BMW readies move to structural batteries, ‘46120’ cells

The technology below the smooth skin of BMW's i Vision Dee concept car, unveiled at CES 2023, marks a major step forward in the company's electric-vehicle competitiveness. Models based on the automaker's Neue Klasse EV architecture will ditch today's rectangular prismatic batteries for the type of large, cylindrical-form-factor cells that Tesla is pioneering with its “4680” cells, so named for their 46 mm × 80 mm dimensions. For its sixth-generation EV batteries, BMW and its battery partners - including China's CATL and EVE Energy - will adopt even-larger cells of “4595” and “46120” sizes.

At a pre-CES media backgrounder held in Munich in December 2022, Martin Schuster, BMW Group VP for high-voltage batteries, said the new cells pack at least 10% more active battery material relative to their metal cases and are 20% more energy-dense.