Rimac will provide batteries for the next generation of BMW’s electric cars, it has been confirmed.
The Croatian outfit’s engineering division, Rimac Technology, has inked a supply deal with BMW which it says heralds “the largest and most ambitious project the company has undertaken to date”.
No financial terms of the deal have been disclosed, and neither firm has given any indication of the volumes in which Rimac will supply batteries.
However, Rimac said the deal requires it to equip its battery factory with new ‘sophisticated automated production lines’.
“A significant portion” of the Rimac Campus near Zagreb will be dedicated to developing and supplying BMW’s new battery packs, “underlining the company’s commitment” to its partnership with BMW, Rimac said.
The two companies have promised to give further details of the tie-up “at a later stage”.
It remains unclear what implications the new deal has for BMW’s existing battery supply framework.
The company procures EV batteries from five global sites currently, and is building new sites for its next-gen batteries in Hungary, Mexico, China and the US. Another new factory is being built in Bavaria to assemble batteries for EVs built by BMW in Munich, Dingolfing and Regensburg.
BMW has already confirmed preliminary technical details of its next-generation EV batteries, which are due to be fitted to the Neue Klasse range of cars from 2025 onwards and have been described as unique to BMW.
Using cylindrical cells in place of today’s prismatic arrangement, the new packs are said to offer 30% more range than today’s EVs, while boosting charging speed and reducing weight.
It is unclear whether Rimac has been brought on to refine the chemistry and production process for these new packs, or whether BMW plans to use multiple types of battery.