LG To Supply Rivian R2 With 4695 Cells From 2026

When Rivian unveiled its next two models, the midsize R2 and more compact R3 in March of this year, one of the technical details that was included was that it would use so-called 4695 lithium ion cells in the battery. These are similar to the cells that Tesla announced at its 2020 battery day event albeit a little bit taller. We now know that LG Energy Systems (LGES) will be the supplier of those cells starting in 2026.

Cylindrical cells like this are typically named based on their dimensions. The original cells used in the Tesla Roadster, Model S and Model X were 18650 (also referred to 1865), 18 mm in diameter and 65 mm tall. The Model 3 and Y switched to a larger 2170 (21 mm x 70 mm) that has since become the baseline cylindrical cell used by many automakers including Lucid and Rivian for the Air and R1. In 2020, Tesla announced an even larger 4680 (46 mm diameter x 80 mm height) and 46 mm is rapidly becoming the standard for future EVs using cylindrical cells.

There are three main cell form factors used in EV batteries, cylindrical, prismatic can and pouch. The prismatic can (basically a rectangular cell in an aluminum enclosure) and pouch (the cell electrodes and electrolyte are enclosed in a sealed polymer pouch) are typically larger and can be packaged in a battery pack without voids in between. This allows for greater packing density.

However, cylindrical cells are typically quite a bit cheaper to manufacture and are easier to cool evenly. The downside of cylinders is when you stack them in a box, there is space in between them. The smaller size also means there are a lot more connections between the cells that must be laser welded when the pack is assembled. Smaller cells have less void space between them, but require a lot more connections. There is also less active electrode material because the cans for each cell take up volume and have more, smaller cells means less energy storage material. Larger cells inherently have more void space between them.

For cylindrical cells, 46 mm diameter seems to be the optimal size compromise between reducing the total number of cells, maximizing the active electrode volume for energy storage and minimizing the total void space. While Tesla is currently using a 4680 cell in the Cybertruck and some Model Ys, the 4695 cell is about 19% taller and thus has more storage capacity. BMW is also expected to use 4695 cells in some of its upcoming Neue Klasse EVs while bigger models will use an even taller 46120. The 4695 cell has over six times the energy capacity of a comparable 2170 cell. The Tesla Model Y's 2170 battery pack has 4,400 cells while the 4680 pack only uses 830 for a similar overall capacity and lower cost. Rivian expects the battery pack assembly processing to improve by about 45% thanks to the dramatically reduced part count.

Currently in the R1, Rivian uses 2170 cells with a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) chemistry from Samsung SDI for the larger packs and Gotion prismatic lithium iron phosphate cells for the standard pack and delivery vans. The 4695 cells for the R2 and possibly R3 coming later will be supplied by LGES. Initial supplies of cells are expected to be sourced from an LG factory in South Korea, but at some point during the first year of production, supplies will shift to LG's new cell factory in Queen Creek, Arizona.

LG hasn't yet divulged what the cathode chemistry for the new cells will be, but it's most likely NMC or NMCA (nickel-manganese-cobalt-aluminum) similar to GM's Ultium cells. The initial supply agreement runs for five years and 67 GWh worth of cells which should be enough for between 650,000 and 700,000 vehicles.