The Evolution of BMW’s Battery Cell Selection
BMW used a graphic to fully illustrate the evolution of its battery cell selection over the past decade or so, specifically in the pure electric vehicle sector. It shows that before settling on the 46XX large cylindrical battery cell for its sixth-generation model in the past two years,
BMW had a strong preference for the prismatic cell format. BMW’s first electric car, the i3, has actually gone through three generations. The first generation in 2013 used Samsung SDI’s 60Ah prismatic cell, with an energy density of only 108wh/kg.
In 2016, Samsung SDI’s 94Ah prismatic cell saw its energy density climb to 172wh/kg. In 2018, Samsung SDI’s 120Ah prismatic cell, using NMC622, achieved an energy density of 200wh/kg.
The BMW Mini SE initially used CATL’s 97.2Ah NMC prismatic cell. Later, after establishing the joint venture with Great Wall Motors to form Beam Automotive, BMW opted for Honeycomb’s 133Ah NMC811 prismatic cell. Fast forward to 2021, and starting with the BMW i4, we can see that while prismatic cells continue to be used, their dimensions have become shorter and flatter.
The prismatic cells for the BMW i4 and the fifth-generation iX series electric vehicles are primarily supplied by CATL, Samsung SDI, and EVE. For the BMW ix3, CATL supplies NMC811 cells with a capacity of 116Ah and a mass energy density of 247wh/kg. BMW’s upcoming sixth-generation models, with their 46XX large cylindrical cells, are sourced from CATL, Samsung SDI, AESC, and EVE.