DETROIT — General Motors Co.'s global battery leader detailed plans to introduce the first electric vehicle powered by a lithium manganese-rich battery in 2028, an example of automakers' strategy to leapfrog EV powerhouse China with new technologies.

GM plans to unveil an LMR truck shortly after beginning manganese-rich battery production at a U.S.-based Ultium Cells LLC plant, Battery Vice President Kurt Kelty told a crowd of hundreds Tuesday at a battery conference at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit.

Ultium is a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution.

To compete globally, experts at the Battery Show said automakers such as GM are pinning their hopes on overtaking China rather than copying the Asian nation's lithium-iron-phosphate battery chemistry and manufacturing techniques.

"We do need to innovate," Kelty said. "We can't just copy LFP. If we just do LFP like the Chinese are going to do, we're not going to win. And so LMR is our effort to really leapfrog the Chinese in innovation and combine it with our manufacturing."

While the U.S. EV market has slowed amid lagging demand and unfriendly policies under President Donald Trump, many automakers still see electrification as the future and are investing in new battery technology.

LMR batteries use lithium and a higher proportion of abundant manganese, a mix that Kelty said extends EVs' range without using so much cobalt and other expensive elements.

Another key benefit of manganese-rich batteries is reduced reliance on China for other metals and their processing. Kelty said GM plans to bring manufacturing for multiple battery parts to the United States "by the end of the decade," as well as to ramp up mining.

"We're working on production of critical materials, including the lithium, the manganese (and) the graphite," Kelty said. The plan is to bring "those all closer to home."

Kelty said GM plans to increase "local content" in its battery cells by eight times by 2028.

Ford Motor Co.'s battery head in April also announced plans to develop manganese-rich batteries, with a goal of using the chemistry in Ford EV batteries within the decade.

Stellantis NV has promised a demonstration fleet of Dodge Charger Daytona electric muscle cars powered with another emerging battery technology — solid-state batteries — in 2026. Solid-state batteries use a solid material to conduct energy instead of more commonly used liquid electrolyte.

GM is researching solid-state batteries too, Kelty said, but is betting that manganese-rich batteries are more realistic in the short term.

"LMR is the better path," he said.

GM will continue plans to use low-cost lithium-iron-phosphate batteries in its least expensive EVs, Kelty said. Batteries made up of a mix of nickel, manganese and cobalt will continue to be used for GM's premium EVs.

To remain competitive with China, "we have no other option but to win," said Bob Lee, North American president of LG Energy Solution.

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