Frank Weber, head of development at BMW, told reporters: He added that BMW’s suppliers have agreed to produce the cells exclusively with renewable energy and partially using recycled cobalt, nickel and lithium to reduce production-related carbon emissions by up to 60%. rice field.

The decision is part of BMW’s strategy to buy the cells rather than get involved in production, unlike the push of Tesla and Volkswagen AG. With Neue Klasse set to launch in 2025, BMW aims to gain speed in his increasingly competitive EV market.

Batteries are one of the major cost drivers for electric vehicles, and improvements in technology typically result in better annual efficiencies. Soaring raw material costs are putting pressure on that trajectory, challenging automakers’ predictions that soon EVs will sell at profit margins similar to internal combustion engine vehicles.

BMW has partnered with CATL and Eve Energy to source round batteries in Europe and China, and is still looking for partners in North America. The two U.S. plants will be built in free trade zones in the U.S., Canada or Mexico, BMW said. Each facility will have an annual capacity of up to 20 GWh.

BMW said it has already signed purchase agreements worth double-digit billions of euros with CATL and Eve Energy. Some of the batteries will come from CATL’s planned €7.3 billion ($7.3 billion) facility in Hungary, which will also supply Mercedes-Benz AG. Eve Energy plans to build and operate a second plant to manufacture circular cells in Europe.

Weber said Neue Klasse’s entry-level model could also use lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are cheaper and don’t require nickel or cobalt, but have lower energy density and are heavier than the newer round cells. The top-of-the-line EV has a range of up to 800 kilometers (497 miles) and charges from 10% to 80% within 30 minutes, he said.

(Written by Wilfried Ekludrna)