The new cylindrical battery cells from BMW will increase range and charging speed

BMW’s next-generation battery technology will help its electric vehicles increase their range and charging speed by up to 30%. The Bavarian brand will implement the technology within two years with its next-generation Neue Klasse electric vehicle architecture, replacing the prismatic battery cells used in today’s cars with round cells measuring 46 mm in diameter and available in two different heights.

Likewise, the German manufacturer has indicated that they contain more nickel and less cobalt on the cathode side, and additional silicon on the anode side. The key conclusion is that these changes improve energy density by 20%. This move could even match the models of Porsche and Hyundai that feature 800-volt charging technology.

It is worth noting that the new batteries are also 50% less expensive to manufacture, which could help reduce the retail price of BMW electric vehicles. The brand had also previously said it was aiming for a 30% reduction in battery cost to help it compete with Tesla. But equally important, the carbon footprint of the battery production process has been reduced by 60% compared with current battery cell production.

This is what BMW’s new batteries will look like

The Bavarian manufacturer has indicated that this reduction is possible because the new cells are manufactured using energy generated from renewable sources, and that the cobalt, lithium and nickel inside them will include a percentage of raw materials that were not recently extracted but are already in circulation. The freshly mined minerals that make up the remaining portion will be sourced from certified mines that offer full transparency about the production process. It adds that its ultimate goal is to use fully recyclable battery cells.

It is also working on solid-state batteries that should bring even greater advances in range and charging speeds, but that technology will not be on sale until the end of the decade, around 2030. Before that, it needs to build six gigafactories around the world to produce its new cylindrical cells. In addition, the brand has indicated that it has already awarded multi-billion-dollar contracts to CATL and EVE Energy to build four plants in China and Europe, while anonymous partners will build two more facilities in the North American free trade zone.

This last news could be especially relevant for electric vehicle buyers in North America following the US government’s decision to grant tax credits only to electric vehicles built in the region and using locally sourced batteries.