BMW has begun construction of a new competence center for battery development in Munich. The company will invest a total of US$236.6m (€200m) in the new facility over the next four years, creating 200 jobs. It is scheduled to open in early 2019.
Klaus Fröhlich, member of the BMW AG board of management, responsible for R&D, said, “We will be concentrating all our in-house expertise along the battery-cell value chain at our new high-tech competence center. International experts working in the new development labs and facilities will conduct important research to refine cell chemistry and cell design. We will focus on further improvements in battery performance, lifespan, safety, charging and also costs.”
Oliver Zipse, member of the BMW AG board of management, responsible for production, added, “By producing battery-cell prototypes we can analyze and fully understand the cell’s value-creation processes. With this build-to-print expertise, we can enable potential suppliers to produce cells to our specifications. The knowledge we gain is very important to us, regardless of whether we produce the battery cells ourselves, or not.”