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BMW said on Nov. 9 that Samsung SDI in Europe and LG Energy Solution in the US will supply Gen6 battery cells from existing plants, but gave no volumes, contract values or plant names.
Energy & Cooling DeskEdited by Ege Erten
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Cylindrical cells during assembly of BMW high-voltage batteries, from BMW Group's release photos. The image does not show a Samsung SDI or LGES plant.
Image: BMW Group
Source · Press image from the BMW Group newsroom, used for news reporting.
BMW has contracted Samsung SDI to supply sixth-generation (Gen6) battery cells from Europe and LG Energy Solution (LGES) to supply them from the US, the carmaker said on Nov. 9, with deliveries from existing plants starting in the late 2020s.
In its press release, BMW said Samsung SDI joins CATL and EVE Energy as a source of European-made cells, while LGES becomes a supplier for its US network. The release gave no volumes, contract values, plant names or cell formats for the new suppliers. Nicolai Martin, the board member for purchasing, said the partnerships "deliberately" strengthen value creation in Europe and the US.
For cell buyers and investors, the news matters because it widens the pool of Gen6 cells outside China. BMW lists Samsung SDI beside CATL and EVE for European-made cells, and puts a US-based Korean supplier in the North American chain. The heise news site noted that AESC had been slated to supply cells for BMW's US production, with interim deliveries from its global plants. The release does not say how volume will be split.
BMW's Gen6 batteries use cylindrical cells 46 millimetres in diameter, in two heights of 95 and 120 millimetres, according to heise. The cells sit directly in the battery housing with no module layer, and the pack is part of the car body. BMW says the cells have more than 20% higher energy density than the previous generation, give up to 30% more range and charge faster; these are BMW's claims, not independent measurements.
Samsung SDI promotes its 46-series cells with a nickel-rich NCA cathode (nickel, cobalt, aluminium) and a silicon-carbon anode, heise reported. LGES says its cells in this format use a nickel-rich NCMA cathode with added manganese, plus silicon in the anode. BMW assembles Gen6 high-voltage batteries at five sites near its car plants: Irlbach-Straßkirchen in Lower Bavaria, Debrecen in Hungary, Shenyang in China, Woodruff in the US and San Luis Potosí in Mexico.
Numbers for LGES have circulated in Korean trade press since spring. Heise cites The Elec, which reported that the LGES order could run up to 10 years at about 10 GWh a year, worth more than 10 trillion won, at least about €6.6 billion. Neither BMW nor LGES has confirmed this, and heise found no figures from BMW on Samsung SDI at all.
Both suppliers already ship cylindrical cells. LGES reported a Q3 operating profit of KRW 756 billion, with KRW 416.9 billion of it a US production credit, and cited steady 46-series cylindrical supply.
Samsung SDI's Q3 profit of 407.8 billion won came as ESS and data-center backup batteries sold, and it also cited higher cylindrical-cell sales. Neither company has said whether the BMW cells will draw on capacity that is also being sold to storage customers.
BMW has not said which Samsung SDI or LGES plants will make the cells, how many GWh each will deliver, or the contract length. Heise also notes that local cell plants give only limited protection against export curbs on raw materials, since BMW has not disclosed where its lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite or electrode materials come from. Watch for plant names, annual volumes and filings by the two suppliers in Korea.
