Renault's Ampere develops new EV battery that is 20% cheaper

Ampere, the specialist electric vehicle (EV) company from Renault Group, has developed a new type of battery that will fitted to production vehicles by 2026.

Working with LG Energy Solution, Ampere has led the development of Cell-to-Pack technology. This innovation improves the range of EVs by integrating more cells, and therefore more on-board energy, in a given space. Cell-to-pack technology also helps reduce battery costs.

“In a fast-changing and competitive environment, our battery strategy is proof of the efficiency of Ampere’s open and horizontal approach with best-in-class partners, ensuring smart capital allocation, flexibility and rapid execution. This plan is in line with Ampere roadmap to reduce costs by 40% before the next generation of vehicles”, said Josep Maria Recasens, chief operating officer of Ampere.

The company is also integrating LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) technology alongside the NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) batteries currently used by Renault Group.

Thanks to progress made in LFP technology over the past few years and the development of the value chain in Europe, LFP technology is now a real alternative to NCM. Less energy-intensive than NCM, it is perfectly suited to certain applications, such as small and midsize cars. Less expensive, it is an important part of the economic equation for affordable electric vehicles and their democratization in Europe.

The integration of LFP and Cell-to-Pack technologies will enable Ampere to reduce by around 20% the cost of batteries in its vehicles from beginning of 2026.