BMW goes circular over batteries

BMW Group plans to open a lithium-ion battery recycling facility to generate a closed and sustainable material cycle for automotive battery cells.

The pilot plant is to be built in Parsdorf, near Munich, as part of a EUR 110 million investment. It is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2022 with about 50 employees. The German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Bavarian ministry are both  supporting the project.

This is not BMW’s first investment in batteries as the company opened its Battery Cell Competence Centre in Munich last November. This innovative site covers the entire battery cell value chain from research and development to battery cell composition and design through to capacity for large-scale manufacturing.

The recycling hub will enable BMW to test new systems and innovative production processes. ‘Our goal is to optimise near-standard production of battery cells from the perspective of quality, performance and costs,’ says Milan Nedeljković, member of the BMW board.

He adds: ‘The pilot plant will enable us to close the final gap in the value chain from battery cell development, from the production of modules and powertrain components, to the installation of fully assembled high-voltage batteries at our vehicle plants.’