General Motors has cracked the chemistry of lower-cost, energy-dense electric vehicle batteries. Budget-conscious gasoline holdouts may soon have no excuse.

The new batteries and packs utilize more-prevalent, less-expensive minerals and are lighter and more cost-effective.

General Motors is teaming up with LG to develop lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries for its electric trucks and SUVs. The automaker says that the new chemistry is safer, more energy dense, and less costly than the current technology.