In 2025, BMW's "New Class" will be launched with a mid-size sedan and an SUV. The battery-electric vehicles will use newly developed round cells, which will improve charging performance and range.
From 2025, BMW will be using round cells in its "New Class" e-vehicles.
BMW
The new BMW round cells have a uniform diameter of 46 mm and two different heights. Relative to the current prismatic cells, BMW says the nickel content in the sixth-generation batteries will be increased on the cathode side and the cobalt content reduced at the same time. On the anode side, the silicon content will be increased. "The energy density is increased by more than 20 %, the charging speed is increased by up to 30 % and the range is improved by up to 30 %", said Frank Weber, member of the BMW AG Board of Management for Development. The 800-V technology allows for significantly increased charging power at a current of up to 500 A. The battery system takes on a supporting role in the body structure and can be integrated flexibly and in a space-saving manner in the installation space ("pack-to-open-body"). The cell module level is eliminated.
The new battery cell and the new integration concept are expected to cut the cost of the high-voltage storage system by half compared with the fifth generation. Partners CATL and Eve Energy will each build two gigafactories in China and Europe to produce the new battery cells. Two new factories are also planned in North America. Production will be CO2-reduced, using raw materials such as cobalt, lithium and nickel, some of which are already in circulation. The use of electricity from renewable sources is also expected to reduce the CO2 footprint in battery cell production by up to 60 % compared to the current generation of battery cells. According to BMW, the round cells also offer the option of using cathodes made of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) for the first time. This could eliminate the need for the critical raw materials cobalt and nickel in the cathode material altogether. BMW is also developing solid-state batteries in parallel.