German giant BMW strikes deal to get ahead and make solid batteries on its own

BMW, a car manufacturer, finally got the right to produce its own batteries for electric cars after paying Solid Power

The German car multinational BMW and Solid Power, a battery company, are together on a new project for the year 2023. Now, BMW, which was previously allocating investments in the brand of batteries, like Ford, is sharing some rights with Solid Power with the aim of developing its own batteries for its electric cars.

The battery company is the best known in the solid-state battery sector, and in June 2022 the brand installed a production line of futuristic batteries for testing and qualification purposes. After this series production of the batteries, Solid Power will distribute them between Ford and BMW.

After this endeavor, the battery company is now “sharing” with BMW its design and manufacture of battery cells, and the company will have to meet certain specifications. This deal will cost US$ 20 million, to be paid between now and June 2024. On the part of BMW, the specifications for the production of batteries will be met.

Difference between Solid Power batteries and conventional ones

The batteries from the company Solid Power are different from the “conventional” batteries that are supplied by companies in general, because the conventional batteries are made of lithium ions, with a liquid electrolyte. Solid electric car batteries, on the other hand, are made of solid electrolyte, which have great advantages, such as reducing the risk of fire.

Contrary to popular belief, Solid Power is not selling its battery manufacturing rights to BMW. Instead, the company is supplying the necessary material for the production of electric car batteries, once BMW has its battery production line available.

Thus, BMW will produce its own batteries from those developed by Solid Power, which will be assembled in BMW factories. Production will begin with prototypes.