BMW is not focussing on solid-state battery technology for the coming years, and instead insists there is “a long way to go” with today’s lithium iron (LI) and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) packs – which it will instead continue to develop.
Solid-state batteries are widely said to be crucial to EV longevity because they offer greater capacity and more range than similar-sized LI/NMC packs in use today. That’s because of their simplified make-up that is lighter, less susceptible to temperature variations and can be charged faster.
But while firms such as rival Mercedes-Benz claim they are close to putting the technology into production, Martin Schuster, BMW’s vice president of next-generation battery tech Martin Schuster, estimates that the BMW Group is eight years away from needing a solid state battery option in its lineup.
He said: “The most important thing is the lithium iron battery: it’s not finished. You [still] see improvements. There is no one and only battery. It will not come. But the lithium ion at the moment [can] improve in a steady way, to reduce the cost, because that will be the main, most important goal.”
He told Autocar: “We can do [solid state] now, but the cost in the packaging makes no sense to do. There is still a long way to go with lithium iron.”
Purchasing and supply board member Joachim Post added that BMW Group’s new “Gen6” NMC batteries – that can add 186 miles in as little as 10 minutes – offer more than enough for what the market currently wants. “Would a customer be willing to pay a much higher price for solid-state for, maybe, a little bit faster charging?”, he asked. “Cost is one of the most important points [for EV buyers].”
That cost comes from the production of the packs, especially the cells, said Post. “The problem [with solid-state] is to make millions of battery cells for a low price with a high efficiency, best quality, and easy to integrate in the package,” he said. “But what we so far see there is not a fast breakthrough coming, and that’s why we are quite confident that our Gen6 [battery] is lasting for a long time.”
Asked if this meant BMW would fall behind, given Mercedes-Benz has just announced it has begun testing of its own solid-state battery – which can offer a range of beyond 600 miles – Schuster said: “They are in a price range which is not competitive. That’s fact today, and when we will see it in a competition against lithium iron, then [we will take note].”