BMW isn’t focussing on solid-state battery technology for the coming years, insisting there is “a long way to go” with today’s lithium ion batteries, which it will continue to develop.
Solid-state batteries are widely said to be crucial to EV longevity, because they offer greater capacity and more range than similar-sized batteries in use today. That’s because of their simplified make-up that is lighter, less susceptible to temperature variations and can be charged faster.
But while firms such as rival Mercedes-Benz claim they’re close to putting the technology into production, Martin Schuster, BMW’s vice-president of next-generation battery tech, estimates that the BMW Group is eight years away from needing a solid-state battery option in its EV line-up.
He said: “The most important thing is the lithium ion battery: it’s not finished. You [still] see improvements. There is no one and only battery. It will not come. But the lithium ion battery at the moment [can] improve in a steady way, to reduce the cost, because that will be the main, most important goal.”
He told Autocar: “We can do [solid-state] now, but the cost in the packaging makes no sense to do. There is still a long way to go with lithium ion.”
Purchasing and supply boss Joachim Post added that BMW Group’s new ‘Gen6′ batteries – which can take on 186 miles’ worth of energy as little as 10 minutes – offer more than enough for what the market currently wants.
“Would a customer be willing to pay a much higher price for solid-state for maybe a little bit faster charging?” he asked. “Cost is one of the most important points [for EV buyers].”
That cost comes from the production of the packs and especially the cells, explained Post.
“The problem [with solid-state] is to make millions of battery cells for a low price with a high efficiency, best quality and easy to integrate in the package,” he said. “What we so far see there is not a fast breakthrough coming, and that’s why we are quite confident that our Gen6 [battery] is lasting for a long time.”
Asked if this meant BMW would fall behind, given that Mercedes has just announced that it has begun testing of its own solid-state battery, which can offer a range of beyond 600 miles, Schuster said: “They are in a price range which is not competitive. That’s fact today. When we will see it in a competition against lithium ion, then [we will take note].”
