BMW has added Sweden's Northvolt as a battery supplier, alongside its existing battery suppliers CATL and Samsung SDI.
Northvolt has a battery plant under construction in Skelleftea, Sweden, which will be operational next year and supply batteries for BMW electric cars from 2024. The automaker has already placed an order worth 2 billion euros (approximately $2.3 billion).
Northvolt is also constructing a battery plant in Salzgitter, Germany, in a partnership with Volkswagen Group announced in May. The Salzgitter plant will come online in 2024.
BMW fifth-generation EV technology
Both plants will operate using 100% renewable energy.
BMW has worked with Northvolt since 2018 on battery development. The first batteries Northvolt will build for BMW is the automaker's fifth-generation design, which is smaller and more efficient on a per kwh basis compared to earlier designs. The fifth-generation design also doesn't require rare earths. The recently revealed iX3 is the first model to use the advanced battery.
BMW, like most major automakers, plans to roll out multiple electric cars in the coming years, as well as plug-in hybrids. BMW has committed to launching 25 electrified cars by 2023, and more than half of these will be battery-electric cars. The automaker estimates electrified cars will account for a third of its sales by 2025 and half its sales by 2030.
