BMW invests in native EV battery pack meeting for Hungary plant

BMW Group has introduced that it’s going to spend money on a high-voltage battery pack meeting facility on the web site of its forthcoming electrical car (EV) manufacturing web site in Debrecen, Hungary, which can considerably cut back provide chain distances in battery and EV manufacturing, and cut back logistics prices. The carmaker has additionally mentioned that it’s taking key steps to scale back carbon emissions in its battery provide chain, together with by utilizing renewable power and recycled supplies.

The battery plant will serve manufacturing in Debrecen of fashions on BMW’s Neue Klasse car platform, the group’s first devoted EV structure, which it expects to scale back manufacturing prices and enhance vary efficiency. Car and battery manufacturing on the Hungarian plant, through which BMW is collectively investing greater than €2 billion ($2.07 billion), is predicted to begin by the top of 2025.

In keeping with BMW’s senior manufacturing and provide chain leaders, localising battery meeting in Hungary is a part of the carmaker’s iFactory technique, which goals to make manufacturing extra lean, inexperienced and digital.

Milan Nedeljković, member of the board of administration for manufacturing at BMW, and likewise chargeable for provide chain and logistics, mentioned: “In Debrecen, we’re constructing essentially the most superior plant on this planet. With our iFactory, we’re setting new trade requirements for car manufacturing. Our investments underline our systematic method to implementing e-mobility.”

Markus Fallböhmer, senior vice-president of battery manufacturing on the BMW Group, defined the significance of lowering logistics complexity and price in investing within the battery facility. “The BMW iFactory can be about guaranteeing quick distances for logistics. The shut hyperlink between battery meeting and car manufacturing is a part of our technique.”

BMW at the moment produces battery modules in Germany at Dingolfing, Regensburg and Leipzig, which it not too long ago expanded; it additionally assembles batteries in Shenyang, China and plug-in hybrid batteries in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In October, the carmaker introduced $700m to construct a brand new battery meeting web site for EVs in close by Woodruff, South Carolina.

BMW can be making important investments at its plant in Munich, Germany to construct the Neue Klasse platform. To this point, BMW has not confirmed any plans for battery meeting on the Munich plant, which is situated close to the centre of the town and has area constraints. For Munich’s present manufacturing of the i4 electrical car, batteries are assembled at BMW’s plant in Leipzig.

In Debrecen, the next-generation spherical battery cells shall be assembled right into a metal-frame battery housing, which is then built-in into the underbody of the automobile. The carmaker has beforehand introduced that this subsequent technology of battery cells would have improved power density and considerably cut back manufacturing prices.

BMW has beforehand mentioned it might work with battery cell producers CATL and EVE Vitality to supply the cells from Europe and China. In the summertime, Chinese language battery maker CATL introduced a €7.4 billion funding in Debrecen to construct a battery cell manufacturing unit with annual capability of 100 gigawatt hours. The plant will make the spherical cells for BMW on the plant, CATL president for Europe Matthias Zentgraf mentioned in an interview with AMS, a sister publication to Automotive Logistics. (Zentgraf together with senior BMW manufacturing leaders will be a part of the AMS Evolution Europe Summit in Munich December 6-7, discover out extra right here.)

CATL has been a number one battery cell provider for BMW. It was a significant contract with the carmaker that helped the Chinese language battery cell producer arrange its first plant in Europe in Arnstadt, Germany, which began battery module meeting in 2021 and is about to start battery cell manufacturing this yr.

BMW has additionally mentioned it needs to scale back the carbon footprint of battery cell manufacturing by as much as 60%, with the provision chain a significant focus together with via rising the usage of recycled uncooked supplies and a dedication to make use of solely inexperienced energy from renewable energies for manufacturing of battery cells. It has additionally set targets of lowering emissions in element sourcing by as much as 50%.

For logistics, BMW has plans to scale back carbon emissions inside provide chain by 20% by 2030, together with via nearer collaboration with logistics and transport suppliers, a give attention to digital instruments chain and a a lot larger emphasis on sustainability within the buying of providers.