- Korean battery big LG Vitality Answer will provide batteries for the upcoming Rivian R2.
- LGES mentioned the R2 will get a brand new sort of cylindrical cell with six instances the capability of present cells.
The battery blitz in America continues and the latest beneficiary of that’s the upcoming Rivian R2.
Rivian simply inked a battery provide cope with Korean battery big LG Vitality Answer (LGES) for its next-generation R2 mannequin that is set to launch within the second half of this decade. The Irvine, California-headquartered automaker showcased the R2 electrical SUV—which appears to be like like a child R1S—in March and is now inching nearer to carry that mannequin to market.
LGES mentioned on Thursday that it’ll present Rivian with its superior 4695 cylindrical cells for over 5 years, with a capability totaling 67 gigawatt-hours. The brand new cell sort has a diameter of 46 millimeters and is 95 mm tall, the battery maker mentioned in a press launch. It’ll characteristic six instances the capability of the prevailing 2170 cylindrical cells.
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“Its bigger measurement permits greater power density, improved house effectivity, and enhanced security, which is attracting industry-wide consideration,” LGES mentioned. The batteries will probably be manufactured on the LGES manufacturing unit in Arizona and shipped to Rivian’s Illinois plant, the place the R2 is predicted to enter manufacturing in 2026 if issues proceed as deliberate.
Rivian confirmed the identical to InsideEVs however didn’t present any additional particulars.
The R2 is predicted to recover from 300 miles of vary, the automaker mentioned. The R1S and R1T each get nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries from Samsung SDI, whereas their entry-level Commonplace Vary trims get lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells from an undisclosed provider.
“Because of the dynamic nature of the present EV market, an growing variety of international automakers are demonstrating a robust desire for a various vary of battery type elements,” mentioned David Kim, CEO of LG Vitality Answer. “This huge-scale order from Rivian for 4695 batteries marks a key milestone for LG Vitality Answer in increasing its shopper base throughout the cylindrical battery section.”
Rivian showcased the R2 again in March with a lot fanfare though the smaller R3 and R3X hatchbacks stole the present.
The R2 will carry over the journey theme from its greater R1 sibling and is predicted to pack a bunch of cool tech, like zonal structure and haptic management dials on the steering. It’ll additionally come natively geared up with the Tesla NACS connector—so discovering quick chargers should not actually be a difficulty for the R2.
Rivian is concentrating on a beginning worth of $45,000 for the R2, which suggests it might locks horns with the Tesla Mannequin Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Chevy Blazer EV.
Nevertheless, there is a massive query: Will consumers flock to the R2 or skip the center youngster and await the R3? R2 pre-orders had topped 100,000 by July, however numbers solely say a lot.
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