ONE’s Aries II cells use cathodes made of lithium iron phosphate. LFP cells are less expensive, safer and more sustainable than those that use nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathodes, but typically provide far less range.
The Aries II cells have significantly narrowed the performance gap between LFP and NCM, ONE founder and chief executive Mujeeb Ijaz said at a media briefing on Tuesday.
The Aries II packs are slated to go into pilot production late next year at ONE’s new factory in Van Buren Township in south-eastern Michigan.
Ijaz said the company’s dual-chemistry Gemini pack will boost EV range to 965km and is scheduled to go into production in 2025-2026.
Gemini marries LFP cells similar to those used in the Aries pack with higher-energy cells that act as a range extender as charge is depleted. The range-extender cells use cathodes with no cobalt and 75% less nickel, along with lithium metal anodes that use no graphite.
Ijaz said the cost target with Gemini is US$50 (RM232) per kilowatt-hour at the pack level — less than half the typical cost of today’s NCM packs.
That would put the cost of a 185kWh Gemini pack at around US$9,250 (around RM43,000). Today’s battery packs can cost from US$12,000 to US$20,000 (from RM56,000 to RM93,000), depending on battery size, weight, chemistry and output.
