BMW implements five major measures to establish a sustainable closed-loop material cycle for battery cells

On September 16, German BMW Group's Director of Research and Development Weber proposed an innovative key path step to carbon neutrality at the 2021 World New Energy Vehicle Congress: establishing a sustainable closed-loop material cycle for battery cells.

Webofan believes that the sustainability of new energy vehicles will largely depend on batteries, and the environmental friendliness of batteries is directly determined by the battery cells. Therefore, the BMW Group has taken five major measures to establish a sustainable closed-loop material cycle for battery cells.

First, BMW's fifth-generation eDrive electric drive system no longer uses rare earth elements. Even if rare earth elements are needed, the BMW Group has independently purchased cobalt and lithium to ensure that the materials come from certified mines that are pollution-free and do not employ child labor.

Second, the BMW Group has always required suppliers to use only electricity from renewable energy in the production of battery cells. For example, the CATL NCM811 battery cells used in the iX3 are all produced from green electricity.

Third, the BMW Group is recycling all used BMW high-voltage batteries worldwide and reusing them in stages. In China, more than 500 BMW new energy dealers have established a closed-loop recycling process for high-voltage power batteries.

Fourth, continue to research new materials and put them into mass production. At the BMW Group's Munich Cell Technology Center, about 200 scientists and experts are working day and night for this.

Fifth, we will work with the startup Solid Power to jointly develop solid-state batteries. We plan to launch a solid-state battery prototype by 2025 and mass-produce it by 2030.