In China, the prevailing chemistry is lithium-iron-phosphate, or LFP. It costs less, uses fewer hard-to-source minerals, and is often safer under extreme conditions, but the technology holds less energy in a given volume. Tesla has begun using LFP for some U.S. models, and Ford announced it will build an LFP cell plant for its electric vehicles.Battery engineers must decide what shape each cell should be—though, in practice, not every supplier offers every cell chemistry in every format.
Battery pack from GM’s Ultium family, which use cells with a nickel-manganese-cobalt-aluminum blend.The new GMC Hummer pickups and SUVs have two 400-volt module groups in parallel that switch to an 800-volt series to allow DC fast-charging of up to 300 kilowatts.While there are standard sizes for cylindrical cells, some of the other cell formats are made in sizes specific to a given automaker.
Today, virtually any EV with a range of 200 miles or more has a battery under the cabin floor that stretches from door to door, axle to axle. Often there's also a raised hump under the rear seat for more capacity, and sometimes what the Germans call “foot garages” are recessed into the pack to allow sufficient rear-seat legroom in lower vehicles. These heavy underfloor packs do have the benefit of lowering the center of gravity, thus improving vehicle stability and handling.