Slate, maker of the stripped-down EV truck, has found another way to simplify its product: the battery.
When the startup revealed the starting price Wednesday — $24,950 before destination, taxes and other fees — it also said it changed its battery strategy, eliminating the optional 240-mile pack but increasing the standard pack from 150 miles to 205.
How Slate pulled it off shows how significantly the US battery market has changed over the past four years.
Initially, the startup planned to use nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cells. The chemistry is widely used in the automotive industry and is favored for its energy density, which translates into greater range. But NMC is also expensive, mainly due to high nickel and cobalt prices.
More recently, automakers have started using another chemistry, lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Batteries using LFP are less energy dense but cheaper by about 40%thanks in part to low-cost components such as iron, one of the main cathode materials, replacing nickel and cobalt.
There were good reasons why Slate and other automakers started with NMC. The LFP supply chain today is concentrated in China. That wasn’t always the case – early US battery startup A123 Systems was founded to commercialize the technology. But after a few mistakes, it fell into bankruptcy and it was purchased in 2013 from a Chinese auto parts company. Since then, Chinese battery companies have embraced the chemistry and dominated LFP cell production.
The foreign origin of the LFP meant that, before last summer, electric vehicles using it would not qualify for a $7,500 tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act. Only batteries made from materials sourced domestically or from companies with which the US had a free trade agreement would qualify. But when the One Big Beautiful Bill repealed the tax credits, those concerns also evaporated. Chinese manufacturers were again in the spotlight. Slate said it is working with Hefei-based battery company Gotion to supply the cells, which will be manufactured at a factory in Illinois. according to at InsideEVs.
The other reason automakers switched from LFP batteries was their limited range. Automakers selling in the U.S. market have prioritized range, though vehicles that can travel more than 300 miles on a charge tend to be expensive—almost the opposite of what the Slate does.
In reality, most people don’t need that much range, and as charging networks have grown in size, range and speed, range anxiety is gradually lessening. While LFP cells will never match NMC in energy density, modern variations in chemistry have helped close the gap. Ford, GM, Rivian and Tesla all offer models that use LFP cells.
The industry’s embrace of LFP cells also coincided with its move to cell-to-pack technology, which Slate uses to make its batteries.
Previously, when automakers assembled a battery pack, they first loaded cells into modules, which were then loaded into the pack. This arrangement allowed them to use case cells, which are cheaper and lighter. But over time, they realized that the unit approach canceled out the cost and weight savings that case cells offered. Although some EVs still use modules, the industry is moving toward cell-to-pack manufacturing, in which rigid batteries, either prismatic or cylindrical, are loaded directly into the pack itself.
The packaged cell cuts manufacturing steps and boosts volumetric energy density, a useful feature for a small EV like the Slate truck. Additionally, LFP cells can be charged to 100% with fewer concerns about degradation than NMC, meaning drivers can use the full package on a daily basis.
While there was likely a moment when Slate leadership had to greenlight the switch from NMC to LFP, the momentum toward that decision had been building for years. The LFP won’t capture the entire market — automakers like GM are betting on a completely different chemistry — but the combination of low cost and decent range make the LFP an obvious choice for the cheapest EV in the US
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.
