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BMW Develops Its Own 4680 Cells, Contracts CATL and EVE Energy to Build Them

Oliver Zipse once said that BMW had “much more efficient ways to build a car body” than with mega castings. That was his way of saying Tesla’s recipe for new cars was not the best. On the other hand, the German company now seems to agree with the American EV maker that cylindrical cells are better than prismatic ones. BMW will make cylindrical cells of 46 millimeters in diameter and two different heights. We bet one of them is 80 mm.
BMW's new round cell is nothing more than the 4680 cylindrical cell format Tesla introduced 6 photos
Photo: BMW
BMW's new round cell is nothing more than the 4680 cylindrical cell format Tesla introducedBMW's new round cell is nothing more than the 4680 cylindrical cell format Tesla introducedBMW's new round cell is nothing more than the 4680 cylindrical cell format Tesla introducedBMW's new round cell is nothing more than the 4680 cylindrical cell format Tesla introducedBMW's new round cell is nothing more than the 4680 cylindrical cell format Tesla introduced
That makes this new “round cell” – as BMW calls it – precisely the same format Tesla adopted with its 4680 batteries. When the EV maker revealed these cells, it said they would present five times more energy, six times more power, and 16% more range than the 2170 batteries. BMW compares it to the prismatic cells it currently uses, which makes it impossible to properly match these figures with those presented by the German carmaker.

According to BMW, the new format allowed it to increase energy density by more than 20%. That happens because the cells can have more nickel and silicon and less cobalt. The new cylindrical cells will allow the German company to improve the range by up to 30% in its vehicles with the highest range nowadays. Besides these gains, cost seems to be king in BMW’s decision to adopt cylindrical cells.

The German automaker said that the cost of the battery pack can be slashed in half “thanks to the new battery cell and new integration concept for battery technology.” BMW is probably talking about cell-to-pack (CTP) or even cell-to-body (CTB), something that at least one of its future suppliers can help it with.

CATL and EVE Energy were selected to make these new cells and assist BMW in building six new battery factories, each of which able to produce 20 GWh annually. That’s a 120-GWh capacity for the Neue Klasse vehicles that will arrive in 2025. These plants will be evenly distributed in China, Europe, and the USMCA region: two in each of them. That should help BMW meet the new federal tax credit requirements for local battery production.

The new cells will have a percentage of recycled material. Their raw materials should come only from certified mines, meaning they comply “with environmental and social standards for raw material extraction.”

BMW also shared that it is studying LFP cells and developing all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). The German carmaker intends to present a prototype running on these new cells “well before 2025.” The new battery packs will work at 800V and resist a current of up to 500 A. In other words, the new EVs will offer much lower charging times than the current ones.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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