Description of legal entity the legal entity and its main tasks
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries. In 2018, the BMW Group sold over 2,490,000 passenger vehicles and more than 165,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2018 was € 9.815 billion on revenues amounting to € 97.480 billion. As of 31 December 2018, the BMW Group had a workforce of 134,682 employees. The success of the BMW Group has always been based on on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.As a pioneer in the field of electro-mobility, no manufacturer has a broader product range than the BMW Group. Therefore, electric mobility is an integral part of the BMW Group strategy, which is pursued in a comprehensive approach (360 degrees). This begins with the securing of raw materials from certified sources, continues with research activities for batteries, and extends to the product portfolio for exchangeable drive variants, the development of private and public charging infrastructure and the secondary use of traction batteries. In 2018, the BMW Group sold more than 140,000 electrified (battery electric and plug-in hybrid) vehicles, thereby confirming its leading role in the field of electro-mobility, consequently following its electrification roadmap. Since BMW has a long tradition in participating in joint research, its associates are very well experienced in conducting and participating in national and European joint research programs.
Tasks and justification in INSTABAT
BMW is on the top of the value chain and offers as a product electric vehicle to the end-customer. In this context, BMW will contribute on the following activities of the project:
- WP1: BMW understands its role to formulate industrial requirements in order to have a clear connection of a research project to industrial implementation. Hence, BMW is leading Task 1.1 on requirements. As OEM, BMW is very experienced in deriving requirements from car needs down to component level, smart cells, and communicating them to partners.
- WP6: BMW will also contribute to Task 6.2. BMW will assist in assessing the cost potentials and analyse chances and risks for second life applications as well as in the final recycling.
- WP7: BMW is also leading Task 7.2, exploitation plan, which again correlates very well with BMW’s role as customer for the project results. BMW will lead the IPR survey and, together with the industrial partners, develop business models and identify suitable supply chains for a final product.
- Other minor contributions:BMW will have other minor contributions such as in WP8.
CV of the persons
Dr. Jiahao Li
BMW, 80809 Munich, Germany
Dr. Georg Steinhoff
BMW, 80809 Munich, Germany
Dr. Ann-Christin Gentschev
BMW, 80809 Munich, Germany
Dr. Franz Geyer
BMW, 80809 Munich, Germany
LIST of relevant publications
- BMW Strategy: 25 electrified cars by 2023 access to the publication
- Competence Centre for Battery Cells access to the publication
- Schmidt J., Dandl S., Gentschev AC., Elian K., Rose M., “Integrierte Zell-Sensorik in Lithium-Ionen-Akkus für Elektro- und Hybridfahrzeuge”. In: Tille T. (eds) Automobil-Sensorik. Springer Vieweg, Berlin, Heidelberg (2016)
- K. Gallagher, Peter Lamp, Thomas Wöhrle, et al., “Optimizing Areal Capacities through Understanding the Limitations of Lithium-ion Electrodes”, Journal of The Electro-chemical Society, 163 (2) A138-A149 (2016)
- Patent on reference electrodes”; US20190072613A1
List of relevant previous projects
- MiBZ “Multifunctional intelligent Battery Cell”. The objective of this project was Battery cell development with integrated sensors for temperature, pressure, gas and current. Other consortium partners (IFAG and VMI) participated in this project (Germany, BMBF: 11/2015-10/2018)
- LImeS “Li-ion cells for integration with extended sensorisation”. The main objective of this project was a general sensor development and the improvement of communication between cell and BMS. Other partners from the consortium (IFAG and VMI) have been involved in this project (Germany, BMWi: 06/2019-05/2022)
- FiveVB “Developing the next generation of batteries”. The objectives of this project are: (1) to achieve a higher energy density cell by using innovative actives materials; (2) to develop a methodology with the project team that demonstrates how it will be possible in the future (EU-Project: 05/2015 – 04/2018)
- FastCharge “Ultra-fast charging technology ready for the electrically powered vehicles of the future”. The main objective of this project is to increase in charging capacity to as much as 450 kW; industry consortium develops technology to make charging electric vehicles as fast and convenient as fuelling with petrol. (Germany, BMVI: 07/2016)
- IMAGE (EU-Project: 10/2017 – 09/2020)
Description of any significant infrastructure
No specific infrastructure is necessary to carry out BMW’s tasks within INSTABAT project.
The BMW headquarters are located in Munich. The primary German production sites are located in Munich, Regensburg, Dingolfing, Leipzig, Berlin and Landshut. Beyond these German plants there are major production sites in Austria, South Africa, USA, Great Britain, Mexico and China. The BMW Group is continuously focusing on the implementation of its electro-mobility strategy, with the company concentrating all its technological expertise relating to battery cells at a new competence centre, which has been opened in Nov. 2019. In the labs, research and prototyping facilities of the Competence Centre for Battery Cells, specialist departments are analysing cell design and cell technology. They do also create prototypes of future battery cells, focusing on the chemical composition of the cells, use of different materials, how the cell behaves in critical or extremely cold conditions, charging and rapid-charging behaviour and evaluating cell sizes and forms. This in-house technological expertise is key to enhance the battery, thereby enabling higher performance capabilities.
Other Documents
Our group is involved in KLIB, which will help to disseminate results and contact other industries for supply chain evaluation. Our group also participates in the DIN-Normenausschuss Automobiltechnik, which could be utilised to start standardisation process of possible INSTABAT results.
