Four years ago, BMW signed a contract with Northvolt, but the contract was recently cancelled. Northvolt is a Swedish company that produces lithium-ion batteries, and the contract was worth 2 billion euros.

In 2016, two former Tesla executives founded Northwolt, and in January they raised $5 million to expand a battery recycling facility in Sweden. In March, the company began building a new gigafactory for battery production in Heide, Germany, and is considering a new facility in Borlange, Sweden.

The reason for the termination of the contract between BMW and Northvolt is that the Swedish manufacturer did not fulfill its obligations due to problems with serial production, a delay of two years behind the original plan, but also that it produces too much waste. Battery cells would be produced from wind and hydropower.

BMW still has a contract with Northvolt to supply next-generation battery cells for Neue Klasse electric vehicles. The first next-generation car to hit the market is the iX3, which has been announced for the end of next year. After this model, an electric sedan the size of the current Series 3 will arrive, and then the iX4 sedan and station wagon are expected in 2027. The successor to the current iX2 model will also be part of the Neue Klasse family.

BMW has already started talks with Samsung SDI about the supply of batteries needed for their current electric cars.

Source: BMW