BMW is building a battery competence centre in Leipzig
BMW has begun construction of a logistics centre for high-voltage batteries outside its Leipzig plant. The site, which will be used by BMW in the future, is 12 hectares in size; eight hectares will be built in the first construction phase.
Completion of the factory is planned for mid-2024 and it will include a logistics hall for high-voltage batteries of the current fifth generation, a loading tunnel and an office building. The fifth generation still uses prismatic cells; the changeover to round cells will only take place with the new class from 2025.
According to BMW, the second construction phase was already included in the planning of the first phase. The exact scope of the second phase is not specified. The only thing that is clear is that BMW is investing up to 100 million euros in both construction phases. The operation of the new buildings at the Supply Centre North is designed for around 500 workplaces in both construction phases.
At the BMW plant in Leipzig, the electric version of the Mini Countryman will be built with fifth-generation battery cells in the future; the vehicle will have its premiere next week in the run-up to the IAA. However, the warehouse is not only planned for the Leipzig plant’s own needs: BMW’s Leipzig plant already supplies every third battery module for the BMW Group’s all-electric vehicles, with the BMW iX1 (Regensburg plant), BMW i5 and BMW iX (both from Dingolfing) cited as examples in the statement.
Various battery assembly production steps are carried out at the plant on the former i3 and i8 production areas – battery assembly has been gradually expanded since 2021. There, the prismatic battery cells are painted and thus covered with a layer several millimetres thick, which serves as additional protection or insulation. The painted cells are combined into modules on further production lines.
By 2024, more than 1,000 people will be working in battery component production at the Leipzig site. At the beginning of next year, the assembly of high-voltage batteries, which is currently still under construction, will also be put into operation. BMW will then be able to process the modules produced in Leipzig into complete battery packs for the vehicle plants. From then on, the entire process of high-voltage battery production will be mapped there – from the delivery of the purchased battery cell to the ready-to-install battery pack that is assembled in the car.
With the new hall as a logistics centre for high-voltage batteries, the Leipzig plant is further expanding its role as a “cornerstone in supplying e-components for the production network”, according to BMW. Structurally, the new hall meets all the requirements for handling high-voltage components. According to BMW, the roof of the hall will be equipped with photovoltaic systems that can generate around 3,000 kW of peak power and the hall will be heated by a heat pump.
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