First design
site theme
Domestic production of lithium-ion batteries gained momentum in 2022. In May, the Department of Energy announced it would spend $3 billion to increase battery production here in the United States. But more consistently, in August, the passage of the inflation relief law now links electric vehicle tax credits to local battery production. As a result, automakers have rushed to build new battery factories in North America.
BMW is now the newest OEM to sign up for the list. On Wednesday, BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse announced that the company, which aims to sell 2 million electric cars by the end of 2025, will invest $1. 7 billion in electric vehicle production in the United States. $1 billion of that cash will be used to build electric vehicle production lines at BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The remaining $700 million will go to a new battery gathering plant in Woodruff, South Carolina.
And BMW also announced a partnership with Envision AESC, which will build a mobile lithium-ion production plant with an annual capacity of 30 GWh/year, also in South Carolina. BMW says the plant will produce newly evolved circular mobiles, in particular designed for BMW’s sixth-generation electric vehicles. (The newly unveiled iX and i4 are their fifth-generation electric vehicles. )
The new phones will have a higher energy density of 20% and are expected to recharge 30% faster than BMW’s existing high-voltage lithium-ion, and says it plans to reduce carbon emissions from mobile production by 60% through increased use of recycled fabrics and renewable energy.
In a statement, Zipse said:
“For decades, the Spartanburg plant has been the cornerstone of the BMW Group’s global success. This is the home of the BMW X models that are so popular all over the world. In the future, it will also be a major driving force of our electrification. . strategy, and here we will produce at least six fully electric BMW X models until 2030. This means that the “house of the X” also becomes the “house of the battery electric vehicle”. “Local for local” principle: Our newly developed sixth-generation battery cells, which have been designed in particular for next-generation electric vehicles, will arrive here in South Carolina, where X is going electric. »
Currently, BMW’s Spartanburg plant is building another 11 models and will add the new XM hybrid to the list later this year. The company plans to add the electric iX5 to the list before the end of 2026, the iX7 a year later and then the iX6 and iXM in 2028.
“This is a major milestone for the Spartanburg plant as we continue our culture of generating high-quality cars and building on the good fortune of the past 30 years,” said Robert Engelhorn, chairman and chief executive officer of BMW Manufacturing Co. “With this new investment, we are future-proof our operations and preparing the plant for electrification and new technologies, ensuring the long-term good fortune of our business and our position as an active and viable employer in the state of South Carolina. “
Join the Ars Orbital Transmission email to get weekly updates to your inbox.