BMZ & CALB announce utility vehicle battery cooperation

The German BMZ Group and CALB (China Lithium Battery Technology) have signed a strategic cooperation agreement. Together, the partners want to develop and produce lithium-ion batteries for use in electric commercial vehicles for markets in Europe, America and Asia-Pacific.

These commercial vehicle batteries will initially be based on CALB’s NMC battery cells. From 2025 onwards, solid-state batteries will also be offered, as BMZ Group writes in a press release. The BMZ Group’s brief statement does not indicate the key data for the battery systems – whether with cells based on liquid or solid electrolyte. The target is batteries for electric buses, electric trucks, agricultural vehicles, construction vehicles and “other LCEVs”.

Accordingly, both parties will jointly explore the global market by sharing their respective resources, it said. “With its R&D and manufacturing expertise, CALB will be a strategic partner for BMZ to maintain its leading role in the commercial vehicle market and beyond,” the German developer of lithium-ion system solutions said.

In February, BMZ Group had introduced TerraE as its global battery brand. The announcement does not mention whether the products from the CALB cooperation will also be sold under the TerraE label.

Last September, the battery manufacturer CALB had announced its intention to expand its production capacities to 300 GWh by 2025 – among other things with a 50 GWh factory in Hefei and, as announced in January 2022, also with a battery factory in Europe. A final location and the planned production capacity are not yet known.

bmz-group.com (PDF)