The Electric: The Race to Make a Better Iron-Based Battery

Until 2020, Tesla only used batteries with nickel-based cathodes. Then the company began to equip some Model 3s it sold in China with an iron-based chemistry called lithium-iron-phosphate. Industry hands derided LFP as a cheap alternative that offered limited range—good only for entry-level economy cars. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk saw LFP as his go-to battery. Nickel, he said earlier this month, was needed only for aircraft, ships and very long-range cars and trucks.

Other automakers increasingly agree and are embracing LFP batteries. In part that’s because the batteries have improved, with the best providing almost 300 miles of driving range, more than double the distance of just a few years ago. But it also reflects optimism that new LFP formulations can boost its performance and range even more. Speaking to investors in November, Doug Parks, General Motors’ executive vice president of global product development, highlighted research on what he labeled “LFP 2.0.” GM, Parks said, was “exploring next-gen LFP-style chemistries.”