BMW accelerates semiconductor battery manufacturing

The BMW Group has just announced the strengthening of its partnership with the American company Solid Power, specialized in the development of advanced semi-conductor battery technologies.

According to analysts, semi-conductor batteries could mark a new breakthrough. Compared to current lithium technology lithium-ion, they use both solid electrodes and solid electrolytes instead of the liquid or gel-type electrolytes found in lithium-ion batteries. One unknown remains, that of durability, which is still improvable after repeated charges.

Certain Advantages

The advantages are nonetheless numerous: drastic cost reduction, increased charging speeds, significant autonomy improvements, and a more straightforward manufacturing process.

Solid Power, based in Colorado (United States), specifies that the agreement with BMW Group has now been expanded and should enable BMW to produce its own semi-conductor batteries in Germany. Thanks to this agreement, BMW will have access to battery research and development, cell design, and Solid Power’s manufacturing expertise to accelerate the technology alongside its partner.

The COO of Solid Power, Dr. Derek Johnson, declared: “We couldn’t be more excited to develop our relationship with BMW, a company that has demonstrated strong commitment to Solid Power’s technology over the past seven years. We believe this expanded partnership and increased collaboration are further votes of confidence in Solid Power’s technological development“.

A Real Power Rise

As a reminder, BMW Group approached Solid Power in 2017, similar to the American automotive giant Ford. In June of last year, Solid Power announced that the company would begin shipping silicon 20 Ah EV cells to its automotive partners before the end of 2022 for testing. Solid Power also plans to manufacture up to 15,000 large-format sulfide-based cells per year.

Also read: Solid batteries: ‘Not before 10 years’ according to an expert