The BMW Group continues to put money into e-component manufacturing at Plant Leipzig and in the way forward for the positioning. A leasehold contract has now been signed for an space of land outdoors the plant premises. The brand new plot to be used by BMW consists of 12 hectares in whole, eight of which can be constructed on within the first stage of building. It will produce a logistics corridor for the present fifth-generation high-voltage batteries and an workplace constructing, each of that are as a result of attain completion in mid-2024.
Rendering of the BMW Group’s new high-voltage battery logistics heart on the Northern Industrial Property in Leipzig
Within the first stage of building, a warehouse, a two-storey workplace constructing and a loading tunnel with a mixed gross space of 38,000 m2 can be erected. There are additionally plans for a second building stage, which can take the full funding to as a lot as €100 million. When all the development work is full, the brand new buildings on the Provide heart North will present workplaces for roughly 500 staff.
By 2026 the BMW Group goals for at the least one in three new vehicles bought to be totally electrical, so the necessity for high-voltage batteries will enhance. Plant Leipzig is already a cornerstone in supplying e-components for the manufacturing community and offers one in three battery modules for the BMW Group’s totally electrical autos. These embrace the BMW iX1, the BMW i5 and the BMW iX. With the brand new corridor as a logistics heart for high-voltage batteries, Plant Leipzig is embracing this function even additional, with a constructing that meets all of the structural necessities for dealing with high-voltage elements.
BMW Gen5 Excessive-Voltage-Battery
Planning the logistics corridor, the staff utilized stringent environmental requirements that go above and past authorized necessities. The buildings is not going to be powered by fossil fuels, for instance. Photovoltaic techniques on the roof of the corridor will generate approx. 3,000 kW in peak operations. As well as the corridor can be heated by a warmth pump. The workplace constructing could have a inexperienced roof, and bushes at strategic factors alongside the façade will hold indoor temperatures cool when the climate outdoors is scorching.
The skin area can be landscaped with greater than 5,700 new shrubs and bushes. It will proceed the Metropolis of Leipzig and the BMW Group’s efforts so as to add to the inexperienced ring across the plant on the Northern Industrial Property. Out of doors areas can be illuminated by insect-friendly lights, and parking areas can be geared up with electrical charging factors for vehicles and vans in order that electrical heavy items autos can function between the plant and warehouse.
One of many drivers behind the in depth additions which can be at present being made to Plant Leipzig—each on the premises and off—is e-component manufacturing. Measures will safeguard present jobs and enhance the variety of new ones. In the meanwhile greater than 800 staff work in e-component manufacturing in Leipzig, rising to over 1,000 by 2024. Additional jobs can be created with service suppliers.
From subsequent yr BMW Plant Leipzig will run all three levels of the high-voltage battery manufacturing course of: cell coating, module manufacturing and high-voltage battery meeting. E-component manufacturing capability has been steadily rising since 2021, and at current battery cells are coated and assembled into modules there. One in three battery modules for totally electrical autos by the BMW Group already comes from Leipzig in the present day, and a battery meeting system is at present underneath building, anticipated to go on stream early subsequent yr. The BMW Group is investing as much as €1 billion in extending e-component manufacturing at Leipzig.
With BMW i3 manufacturing now phased out, 2024 will see Plant Leipzig launch its subsequent totally electrical mannequin: the brand new MINI Countryman. The crossover will include a alternative of combustion engines or a totally electrical drive, the high-voltage batteries for the latter being made instantly in Plant Leipzig’s workshops.