LG Energy Solution plans to supply Mercedes-Benz with 46100 cylindrical battery cells — a 46-series format the Korean supplier has never publicly unveiled — according to a report by South Korean trade portal The Elec, which cites industry insiders. The cells would enter production line installation next year and reach the Stuttgart automaker from 2028.

The Elec specifies a first volume production line for the 46100 format at LGES's plant in Wrocław, Poland, with Mercedes-Benz as anchor customer. The supplier is also reportedly weighing investment in module assembly at the site, where individual cells would be combined into battery modules. None of this is confirmed: LG Energy Solution and Mercedes-Benz have not commented, and the report rests on unnamed sources rather than official capacity disclosures.

A new height in the 46-series portfolio

The 46-series denotes cylindrical cells with a 46 mm diameter, with the second number giving height in millimetres. Tesla popularized the format with the 4680 cell, and other variants exist — 4695 at 95 mm and 46120 at 120 mm — though they remain less widely adopted. A 46100 cell, at 100 mm tall, was previously unknown in LGES's lineup.

The Korean company already runs one of the broadest 46-series portfolios among global cell makers. At the end of last year it began producing 4695 cells at its Ochang complex in South Korea. Earlier reports pointed to production of "diverse 46-Series cylindrical cells, ranging from 4680 to 46120 cells" starting by the end of this year at its US plant in Arizona.

According to The Elec, LGES is also preparing a facility in Ochang to qualify the new 46100 cell against the specifications of the planned mass-production line in Poland — a pilot-to-volume bridge the company has used for previous format launches.

Mercedes as lead customer, but not sole buyer

Mercedes-Benz as the primary customer fits the two companies' recent track record. Since October 2024, Mercedes and LG Energy Solution have signed four long-term supply agreements.

The relationship is not exclusive. In April, Mercedes signed its first long-term EV battery supply contract with Samsung SDI. CATL also sits in the automaker's supplier network, and Mercedes has previously sourced cells from SK On and Farasis.

What is confirmed versus claimed

For now, the Wrocław 46100 program sits firmly in the category of reported intention. The Elec has a strong record on Korean battery-sector scoops, but no OEM contract, investment figure, line capacity in gigawatt-hours, or jobs number has surfaced. LGES's Polish operation — its largest European plant — already supplies Mercedes from other formats, so the report is plausible, yet nothing in official production data verifies a 100 mm-height cell in the pipeline.

The picture will clarify on three fronts: watch for LGES confirmation of the Wrocław line and any capital expenditure disclosure during its next earnings call, for equipment orders to line builders tied to a 2026 installation timeline, and for Mercedes to name the vehicle platform that would take 46100 cells ahead of the reported 2028 start of deliveries.