BMW’s future Neue Klasse range of electric vehicles will feature new lithium battery cells. This battery is claimed to increase range by as much as 30 percent.
“The energy density is much higher than before. Can fit more cells into the battery pack. With gen 6, we integrate cylindrical battery cells directly into the vehicle,” said BMW representative Simon Erhard quoted by Carscoops on Sunday, November 4, 2022.
BMW is currently developing the 6th gen cylindrical battery at the BMW Group Battery Cell Center of Excellence in Munich, Germany. The cell shape will allow BMW to ditch the prismatic cells currently configured in bolted-together modules to create a package and allow new cell-to-package designs to be adopted.
This new design will allow the battery to be mounted directly to the vehicle frame. This will not only increase the chassis strength and ride quality, but will also contribute to the usual savings of 50 percent and will take 30 percent less time than other BMW electric vehicle models.
The new electric car’s battery will use more nickel and silicon and use less cobalt. The German automaker will use recycled cobalt, nickel and lithium and produce cells using renewable energy.
BMW plans to build a number of electric crossovers at its South Carolina plant from the middle of the decade. The plant is capable of producing enough batteries to power 300,000 electric vehicles every year.
