Munich. The BMW Group is accelerating its ramp-up of
e-mobility and increasingly relying on regional supply chains, in line
with the principle “local for local”. The company aims to source
components like battery cells close to vehicle production and
gradually localise the supply chain for primary materials.
New partner to supply primary material for battery cell
production
Belgian company Umicore has now been recruited as a further partner
for establishing a local supply chain in North America. Umicore will supply our battery cell supplier
AESC with cathode active battery materials from a new plant in
Ontario, Canada. This is an important step in strengthening the BMW
Group’s regional supply chains and securing the ramp-up of e-mobility.
In accordance with the “local for local” principle, our partner AESC
is currently building a battery cell factory in Florence, South
Carolina. With an initial capacity of 30 GWh/a, the facility will
produce the innovative cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells
specifically developed for the sixth generation of BMW eDrive
technology. Electricity for production of the battery cells and
cathode raw material will come exclusively from renewable sources.
“The BMW Group pursues a globally balanced procurement strategy in
the three main geographical regions of the world. Our battery cell
supplier in the US will source key primary materials from Canada going
forward. We are pleased that Canada is playing a strong role in
establishing a robust and efficient battery cell supply chain for the
BMW Group in North America,” said Joachim Post, member of the Board of
Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network.
Further BMW Group investment in South Carolina
Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, already
announced an extensive investment of 1.7 billion US dollars in
expansion of the US production site back in October 2022. This
includes 700 million US dollars to build the BMW Group’s new assembly
centre in Woodruff, which will provide high-voltage batteries for the
fully-electric BMW X models in the future. In the initial phase, the
roughly 93,000 sq. m. facility will produce sixth-generation battery
modules. The assembly centre will also create about 300 new jobs.
Sixth-generation battery cell technology for better
performance and sustainability
The new sixth-generation battery format will increase energy density
by more than 20 percent and improve charging speed and range by up to
30 percent. At the same time, CO2 emissions from cell
production will be reduced by up to 60 percent: on the one hand, by
cell suppliers relying on energy from renewable resources; on the
other, by using a percentage of secondary material for the raw
materials lithium, cobalt and nickel.
