- BMW and battery developer Solid Power are expanding their partnership on solid-state battery technology, with plans to begin testing vehicles using the battery in 2023.
- The automaker is preparing to build a prototype line at the Cell Manufacturing Competence Center (CMCC) in Germany to test solid-state battery production.
- BMW says a solid-state battery-operated prototype will be introduced before 2025, but a market launch date remains flexible for now.
Several automakers and tech startups are already working on solid-state battery technology, with the promise of lighter weight and longer range of electric vehicles just two of the benefits. The race to supply solid-state batteries for production vehicles is arguably the most important when it comes to EV technology this decade, with several developers pursuing different battery components and efforts to open up expand them from lab to production. line.
Solid Power battery developer, Supported by Ford and BMWis working on using sulfide-based solid electrolytes in place of traditional liquid electrolytes in its battery design, with the same aim of providing lighter and higher energy density batteries than lithium-ion designs traditional.
BMW revealed this week that Solid Power plans to deliver large-scale automotive cells for testing this year. The two companies have also extended a joint development agreement, allowing BMW to build a prototype line at the Cell Manufacturing Competence Center (CMCC) located in Parsdorf, Germany, near Munich.
This expanded agreement will allow BMW and Solid Power to carry out cell development and manufacturing operations at sites owned by both companies.
Before the prototype production line goes live, BMW Group employees will work with the startup’s engineers to fine-tune cell manufacturing processes. The automaker says a demonstration vehicle with a solid-state battery will appear before 2025.
“The expansion of our relationship with BMW is further proof that both companies believe in Solid Power’s technological advancement and the value of solid-state batteries,” said David Jansen, CEO. temporarily, said Solid Power’s president and president.
Other German automakers are also in the race, with Mercedes-Benz backing solid-state startup Factorial Energy, based in Boston and also backed by Stellantis and Hyundai, as well as developer ProLogium solid-state development.
Solid Power has been developing sulfide-based solid electrolytes at pilot scale, but they will soon be ready for real-world automotive testing.
But BMW Neue Klasse electric car, which will launch in 2025, will not immediately benefit from solid-state technology. The automaker plans to introduce the next generation of cylindrical lithium-ion batteries, dubbed Gen6, in the Neue Klasse models, which promises a 30% improvement in range in the WLTP cycle. So solid-state batteries don’t completely according to BMW estimates, although the automaker will begin testing them in prototypes later this year.
“BMW’s new round cells have a diameter of 46 mm and two different heights of 95 mm and 120 mm,” the automaker said of its next-generation lithium-ion cells. “Compared with the prismatic cells of the fifth generation of BMW batteries, the volumetric energy density of the cell will improve by more than 20 percent.”
However, BMW has refrained from predicting only when we’ll see solid-state batteries in its production cars, including Neue Klasse models. BMW hopes that by 2030, 50% of its sales will come from battery-powered models, but whether the majority of these will be next-generation lithium-ion designs or compounds in the state of solid state or not remains to be seen. BMW certainly knows other automakers want to be the first to offer this technology in their cars, too.
But Solid Power has a more solid estimate, suggesting it expects to scale up production of its electrolyte by 2028 to power 800,000 vehicles a year.
“BMW remains committed to the pursuit of fully solid-state batteries, a technology that we believe has significant potential for the future,” said Frank Weber, BMW Board member, Development.
