Lithium-sulfur is commonly considered as one of the most promising chemistries for replacing traditional lithium-ion batteries in weight sensitive applications due to high theoretical capacity of sulfur (S) and lithium sulfide (Li₂S) and high gravimetric energy density of such cells. Fully-lithiated (Li₂S) cathodes are of greater interest than elemental sulfur cathodes because they can be used with lithium-free anodes during cell assemblage, are significantly more thermally stable, and offer greater mechanical stability as no further volumetric expansion occurs upon cycling. However, commercially available Li₂S particles are not suitable for use in cells: they are too bulky in size (even after milling), must be handled only in inert atmospheres (making production of high-performance cathode materials, on a commercial scale, quite difficult) and suffer from rapid degradation in cells during cycling. The large particle size results in poor active material utilization and subsequently poor specific capacity. Another intrinsic difficulty that must be overcome to supplant traditional lithium-ion batteries is a poor cycle life due to the formation and dissolution of polysulfide intermediates that takes place upon a direct contact of active material with electrolyte during cycling. The dissolved polysulfides deposit on the surface of both electrodes resulting in a rapid impedance growth, loss in active material and ultimately battery failure. In this work, we report on a simple, safe and scalable production of chemically and electrochemically stable Li₂S-carbon composite cathode materials, where nanosized Li₂S particles are embedded into an ionically and electronically conductive carbon matrix and further protected from the undesirable interactions with electrolyte by a carbon shell to attain high capacity utilization and stable performance in cells. Low-cost Li₂SO₄ is used as an environmentally friendly precursor for Li₂S. The effect of carbon source and structure and processing conditions on the electrochemical performance will be discussed.