Batteries for future BMW EVs might be made in South Carolina

BMW has taken a step towards localizing battery manufacturing for future EVs. The automaker on Wednesday introduced a partnership with Envision AESC for a devoted battery plant in South Carolina.

The plant may have 30 gigawatt-hours of annual manufacturing capability and might be powered by powered by 100% net-zero carbon power, the 2 firms stated in a press launch. A location hasn’t been chosen, however the plant will provide cells to BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, manufacturing facility situated within the northwestern a part of the state.

AESC stated it should provide next-generation cells with 20% extra power density, sooner charging speeds, and 30% extra EV vary for BMW fashions produced in Spartanburg by 2030. However the firm did not present a particular timeline for manufacturing of the brand new battery plant. AESC additionally did not announce a complete quantity for the funding—though BMW did make clear that it represents a $1.7 billion funding from the automaker in its U.S. amenities.

 

“Envision AESC is dedicated to sourcing crucial battery elements cobalt, lithium and nickel from licensed mines, offering full transparency of extraction strategies and guaranteeing accountable mining.” the corporate stated in an announcement. “The corporate more and more depends on recycled supplies, which is able to contribute to a discount in CO2 emissions from cell manufacturing within the new plant.”

AESC was established by Nissan and NEC in 2008 and is finest often known as the provider of cells for the Nissan Leaf. It grew to become Envision AESC and an unbiased firm with its sale to China’s Envision Group in 2018 however continues to provide Nissan.

Cells for Nissan come from a Tennessee manufacturing facility situated close to the Nissan meeting plant in Smyrna. AESC can be constructing a manufacturing facility in Kentucky, and introduced a partnership with Mercedes-Benz for a battery plant in Bibb County, Alabama, to provide the automaker’s Tuscaloosa meeting plant, which is slated to construct the EQS SUV and EQE SUV.

BMW hasn’t stated which electrical fashions might be assembled in Spartanburg. Opened in 1992 as BMW’s first manufacturing plant exterior Germany, the manufacturing facility presently builds the X3, X4, X5, X6, and X7 SUVs, with manufacturing of the XM plug-in hybrid SUV slated to begin there later this 12 months.

BMW’s battery announcement follows Honda’s current announcement of an Ohio battery plant, whereas Hyundai lately indicated it will transfer up the timeline for constructing EVs within the U.S. These initiatives will assist place future EVs for eligibility for the federal tax credit score underneath revised guidelines that emphasize native meeting and add extra necessities for minerals and provide chains.

Along with utilizing AESC cells for future U.S.-market fashions, BMW can be experimenting with new battery applied sciences, together with solid-state cells and a mixed-chemistry battery pack from startups Stable Energy and Our Subsequent Vitality (ONE) respectively. However neither will seem in a manufacturing automotive for a while; BMW in 2021 estimated that solid-state batteries would not be prepared till the top of the last decade.