Starting in 2025, CATL will provide BMW with cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells for electrified vehicles.
The signing of a deal with BMW was confirmed by CATL (via Reuters), who did not provide any other information outside that. We anticipate that BMW will release further information at a later time.
“The largest battery manufacturer in China, CATL, announced on Friday that it will begin supplying BMW with cylindrical cells in 2025 to power its new line of electric vehicles.
The battery manufacturer and BMW have a contract in which the battery manufacturer is named as BMW’s supplier of cylindrical cells.”
Nevertheless, it’s quite unexpected given that CATL and the German manufacturer had previously relied heavily on prismatic cell format.
If the scale-wide transition from prismatic to cylindrical cell format is real, there must be a compelling cause for it.
We heard a report earlier this month that BMW would use cylindrical battery cells in its next-generation platform, known as “Neue Klasse,” as this type of battery has the potential to reduce the cost of battery systems by up to 30%. (compared to prismatic format). At the time, Bloomberg’s claim was based on unauthorized information provided by “people familiar with the plans.”
Suppliers of battery cells to the BMW Group include Samsung SDI, CATL, EVE Energy, and Northvolt. The rumor states that BMW wants to purchase cylindrical battery cells from current business partners.
According to BloombergNEF, battery cells typically account for four-fifths of the cost of a battery system in 2021, with automakers paying an average of $118 per kWh of battery on the pack level.
The price of battery materials has significantly increased, thus manufacturers are seeking for ways to reduce expenses. According to the Bloomberg study, switching to a cylindrical cell type would help reduce expenses. Tesla’s excellent operating margins may also be a sign of such, but only time will tell.
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KrisL
A thin black rubber tube that plugs into the side of the OEM battery is described below. When it surpasses the 4-year mark, I’ll probably have to replace it sometime in the following year, so I was curious to see that tiny tube sticking out the side. I haven’t checked to see if the nearby AutoZone has the model that is so highly recommended on the community.
Don’t you agree that the battery capacity is a little bit limited? The battery looks virtually insignificant for a car that is so dependent on electricity and contains so many electrical gadgets. Or perhaps it’s because I was accustomed to transporting a huge battery on the venerable Linc.
The vent tube would be that. Hydrogen gas is released when batteries fail. It’s not a problem when the battery is under the hood, but if it’s in a sealed trunk, it could pose an explosion risk, therefore you need to make sure the vent tube is reconnected to the new battery.
Exclusive: BMW will receive huge cylindrical batteries from China’s EVE in Europe.
According to one of the people with direct knowledge of the arrangement, EVE has inked contracts to serve as BMW’s major supplier of battery cells in Europe for its new line of electric vehicles, which are scheduled to go on sale in 2025.
This year, Tesla began producing its new, larger-format 4680 cylindrical battery, which has a diameter of 46 millimeters and a length of 80 millimeters. It has stated that it anticipates the battery will have better range and reduced production costs when compared to the 2170 cylindrical battery, which is currently in use.
The sources, who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media, claimed that the batteries produced by Guangdong-based EVE will be comparable in size.
According to corporate papers, EVE also intends to build a sizable cylindrical battery factory in central China.
BMW’s decision to switch from prismatic batteries, which it now uses, underlines the growing support for larger-format cylindrical batteries. In the past two years, prismatic batteries, which are rectangular in shape and can be more cost-effectively packed, have replaced other types of auto batteries as the most popular option. However, proponents of cylindrical batteries contend that advances in energy density have made the newer, bigger size cells more cost-effective.
The largest battery manufacturer in the world, CATL (300750.SZ), based in China, is also scheduled to begin supplying BMW with cylindrical batteries in 2025. View More
The likelihood that these batteries will likewise have large-sized cells is very high. Requests for feedback on the anticipated dimensions received no response from CATL.
How many batteries BMW planned to purchase from EVE and CATL was not immediately apparent.
According to the individual with firsthand knowledge of the agreement, EVE’s agreement with BMW led the Chinese business to declare in March that it will establish its first plant in Europe, a cylindrical battery manufacturing facility, in Debrecen, Hungary.
In the same location, BMW is also building a facility where it intends to create electric vehicles built on its Neue Klasse platform.
Government subsidies are fueling EV demand in Europe and the US, prompting Chinese battery and EV manufacturers to expedite plans to establish production facilities abroad.
In order to serve European manufacturers, CATL revealed this week that it would construct the largest battery plant in Europe, with a 100 gigawatt-hour annual capacity, also in Debrecen. Its principal customer will be Mercedes-Benz. View More
Chinese battery manufacturers, which have relied on a sizable local market where prismatic cells rule, may have to change tack like EVE and CATL, according to Duan Bing, an analyst at Nomura. A substantial portion of the demand for new batteries is anticipated to be for giant cylindrical cells.
Eve is a significantly smaller company than CATL. It was established in 2001 by lithium-ion battery researcher Liu Jincheng, who is also a supplier to Xpeng Inc (9868.HK). According to data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance, it holds 2.3% of the Chinese market and is ranked ninth overall.
Comparatively, China’s CATL produces 47.6% of the nation’s EV batteries.
Editing by Edwina Gibbs; reporting by Brenda Goh and Zhang Yan in Shanghai; additional reporting by Christina Amann in Berlin.
BMW Increases Battery Production and Describes the Process
BMW has announced the beginning of production at the second battery module facility at Plant Leipzig. The innovative method creates modules for the Munich-produced, all-electric BMW i4 model. The first such manufacturing line, which produces battery modules for the BMW iX vehicles, went into operation at Plant Leipzig in May 2021.
According to Markus Fallbohmer, Head of Engine and E-Drive Production at the BMW Group, “Today’s opening of Leipzig’s second battery module production line provides an essential contribution to providing the battery components needed to produce a rising number of electrified vehicles.”
The BMW Group is gradually raising e-component production in order to meet its target for 2030, when fully electric vehicles will make up at least half of sales.
The second battery module manufacturing system at Plant Leipzig is housed in a 4,250 square meter area and makes use of previous BMW I production premises that are now vacant following the June 30 phase-out of the BMW i3. Each battery module passes through a total of 196 production stations before being finished and prepared for further processing.
Plant Director Petra Peterhansel exclaimed with excitement, “Plant Leipzig stays thrilled.” She said, adding that this would keep the facility relevant into the future, “Now that BMW i3 manufacturing has winded down, we can utilise the skills and knowledge of our staff elsewhere and provide them solid positions for the long term.”
With the popularity of electric vehicles, Leipzig’s e-drive production will grow even more and become more flexible starting early in the next year, with succeeding phases of the development plan adding more new jobs. Mass production of the MINI Countryman will take place after that, starting in 2023. On a crossover model, an all-electric drive will also be an option.
Who produces the BMW iX batteries?
The deal between BMW Group and Our Next Energy (ONE), an energy storage business with headquarters in Michigan, calls for the integration of ONE’s Gemini Dual-Chemistry battery technology into the BMW iX electric SUV.
According to ONE, the BMW iX will be able to go 600 miles (965 kilometers) on a single charge because to its exclusive long-range Gemini technology, which it first showed in January 2022 on a Tesla Model S that traveled 752 miles on a single charge. The iX prototype car, which is expected to be finished by the end of the year, will have nearly double the range of the standard BMW iX xDrive50, which has the greatest EPA-rated range in the lineup at 324 miles (521 kilometers).
According to ONE, its Gemini technology uses 20% less lithium, 60% less graphite, and very little nickel and cobalt. As a result, according to the corporation, it is developing more environmentally friendly energy storage technologies.
BMW high-voltage batteries are produced by whom?
The two plants are at the center of BMW’s aspirations to expand its battery component business. BMW Group Plant Regensburg started coating battery cells for high-voltage batteries in April 2021. Beginning in 2022, Regensburg will also make high-voltage batteries.
BMW produces their own batteries, right?
In BMW factories, the assembly of high-voltage batteries and the production of modules are the two main stages of battery manufacturing.
Plasma cleaning of the individual battery cells is the first stage in the highly automated process that creates the modules. They are then covered by a properly designed system to ensure optimal insulation. They are then merged to create larger pieces called modules. The BMW Group purchases its battery cells from other producers who produce them to the demanding specifications of the business.
The connections, control, and cooling devices are then put inside an aluminum case along with the battery modules. Depending on the car model, several battery module numbers, sizes, and shapes are used in the housing. Each high-voltage battery may therefore be perfectly positioned to drive a particular vehicle.
To address the growing demand for e-drive component production capacity, the BMW Group is making use of its global production network. The company manufactures high-voltage batteries and battery components for the entire lineup of electrified BMW and MINI automobiles at its own battery plants in Dingolfing, Leipzig, and Regensburg in Germany, as well as Spartanburg (US) and Shenyang (China).
High-voltage batteries are made at the factory in Rayong, Thailand. The BMW Group maintains an e-drive pilot plant and a Battery Cell Competence Center in Munich where the development of production technology is explored and the value creation processes for battery cells are carefully examined. The BMW Group will shortly establish a Cell Manufacturing Competence Center nearby Munich.
Because of this, supply chains in the automotive industry are intricate and international, yet they ultimately result in a single product that drivers can use and, ideally, enjoy for many years.
BMW batteries are lithium-ion.
BMW Lithium-ion batteries have the following standout benefits:
- They require no upkeep;
- They are lighter (up to 50% lighter) than AGM or lead-acid batteries;
- They provide more current consumption, allowing for greater state of charge under load;
- With the right equipment, they provide improved cycle stability and higher current consumption, which accelerate charging;
- They can complete 14 times more cycles than a typical lead-acid battery, which qualifies them for use with the intelligent generator control (IGR) and the automated engine start/stop function (MSA);
- The battery life is roughly twice as long as a typical lead-acid battery;
- Lithium iron phosphate cells (LiFeP04) are risk-free because they typically provide less of a threat than other lithium-based batteries.