Interview: Stefan Juraschek, Vice President Development Electric-Powertrain.

Mr. Juraschek, was BMW slow off the mark with electric mobility?

Juraschek: No, absolutely not. The BMW Group actually
played a pioneering role with BMW i. Today we are the premium
manufacturer offering the widest range of battery electric vehicles
and plug-in hybrids. We currently produce the following electrified
models: the BMW i3 (third model evolution with 120 Ah) , BMW i3s, BMW
i8 Coupe, BMW i8 Roadster, BMW 740e, BMW 740Le, BMW 530e, BMW 225xe
Active Tourer, MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 and, in China, the BMW
X1 xDrive25Le. Plus, we have also announced new plug-in hybrid
variants of the 3 Series Sedan and BMW X5 for 2019 following the
arrival of new model generations. This number is set to grow to at
least 13 plug-in hybrid models by 2025. Adding these to the wide
selection of all-electric cars – whose range is due to increase
substantially next year incidentally – will bring the portfolio of
electrified vehicles to at least 25.

Sales topped the 100,000 mark last year and will have grown by around
50% this year.

Is the BMW Group prepared if electric mobility starts to
gather momentum at an even greater pace in future?

Juraschek: The BMW Group is already developing its
fifth generation of electric drive systems, meaning that it has
created an excellent foundation for the future. This latest generation
will go into service as soon as 2020 in the BMW iX3.

A crucial advantage of this fifth-generation system is that the
electric motor, transmission and power electronics now form a single,
highly integrated electric drive component. This extremely compact
unit takes up far less space than the three separate components used
in preceding generations. Its modular construction means that it is
scalable, too, allowing it to be modified to suit all sorts of
different installation spaces and power requirements. The BMW Group
will start to fit the next generation of battery cells in the new,
scalable and even more powerful vehicle batteries alongside the
introduction of the new electric drive components. The modular
“building block” concept will allow the new batteries to be
incorporated flexibly into every vehicle architecture. Another highly
integrated component will be added to the portfolio in the form of a
DC/DC charger unit.

So how will it all work?

Juraschek: On the one hand, we will have flexible
vehicle architectures and, on the other, the scalable and modular
building blocks for the electric drive systems. This will bring about
a lasting increase in flexibility. In future, we will be able to
swiftly decide which models we are going to equip with what mix of
all-electric drive, plug-in hybrid drive or exceptionally efficient
combustion engines. This will let us partially or fully electrify each
model in accordance with market demand, creating the basis for the
mass-market introduction of pure battery electric vehicles in the future.

Don’t you think there is a risk of not being able to obtain
the necessary quantities of raw materials once battery electric
vehicles start to be produced in big numbers?

Juraschek: We do not see any supply risks, even in
the event of growing demand for battery cells. My colleagues in
Purchasing have secured a reliable supply with long-term contracts. We
have also built up in-house battery cell expertise over the course of
joint projects with international partners throughout the value chain.
This is used to ensure access to the technology and to safeguard
supplies. At the same time, we are also endeavouring to gradually
lower the proportion of critical raw materials that are used. For
example, one of the key objectives of our research and development
activities is to bring about a substantial reduction in the proportion
of cobalt in battery cells.

The electric motor in our fifth-generation electric powertrain is
another illustration of this, as it is completely free of rare earths.

Staying on the subject of battery cells: Some well-known
competitors of yours are employing round cells or pouch cells. Why
are you using prismatic cells?

Juraschek: The prismatic hard case arrangement makes
the battery modules more suitable for industrialisation by increasing
the level of automation during module assembly. Besides this, safety
systems such as a safety valve for shutting down the cell in the event
of a short circuit can be integrated more easily. It also allows us to
achieve a higher packing density, meaning that optimum use can be made
of the installation space in the vehicle.

Battery cell manufacturers in China, Japan and Korea have been
investing enormous sums of money in cell development and future
battery technologies for years now. Is it still possible to catch up
with them, both technologically and economically?

Juraschek: We don’t consider any of our competitors
to hold an advantage over us when it comes to the battery technology.
When all the characteristics are viewed together, our battery
technology is on a par with or superior to the competition’s,
depending on how you look at it. We have been dealing with the issue
of battery cells since 2008 and are in a strong position today thanks,
among other things, to an international network of collaborations. For
us, it is important to continue to expand our in-house expertise and
keep advancing battery cell technology. What’s more, building battery
cell prototypes and producing small batches enables us to fully
analyse the production processes and acquire build-to-print
capabilities. In this way, we can provide system suppliers with exact
instructions based on BMW Group specifications, from material
selection through to cell production.

So why don’t you produce the battery cells yourselves?
Juraschek: In the BMW Group’s view, producing the
cells would not give us a competitive advantage, either now or in
years to come. We make electrical components ourselves, using our
in-house manufacturing facilities, whenever we think there is an
advantage to be gained from it, as is the case with the electric
powertrain. That’s why we use supplied battery cells to produce the
modules ourselves, before turning them into complete high-voltage batteries.

Is it really worth doing that? Surely you could buy the
electric motor from a supplier instead?

Juraschek: When the development plans for the BMW i3
became tangible, there wasn’t a single electric motor on the market
that would have met all our criteria. And today we are still just as
unwilling to make any compromises when it comes to key performance
characteristics, such as space requirements, output and weight. Drive
systems have always been an area that has set the BMW Group apart from
the competition. And exactly the same applies to electric drive systems.

All electric motors are basically the same, though. Can
customers really notice a difference?

Juraschek: The customer may not be able to identify
every characteristic of an electric motor, but a significant
difference does become apparent in head-to-head comparisons. Probably
the most obvious thing that the customer will notice is the speed up
to which the motor can sustain its performance. A more indirect effect
is that the vehicle’s range will drop faster if the electric motor
operates less efficiently.

The BMW Group is working together with Northvolt and Umicore.
Why is that exactly?

Juraschek: The objective is to establish a closed
lifecycle loop for sustainable battery cells in Europe. This starts
with a recyclable cell design and continues with a production process
that mainly uses renewable energies. The battery cells should first
fulfil their primary purpose in cars for as long as possible. Once
their lifecycle there comes to an end, they could potentially be used
in stationary energy storage devices. Finally, the battery cell is
recycled and the raw materials reused, completing the loop.

And what are the tasks fulfilled by each of the three partners?

Juraschek: The BMW Group is focusing on cell
development, Northvolt is building a cell production facility in
Sweden and Umicore is the materials cycle and recycling expert.

BMW had already come up with some developments for materials
recycling. What do you now expect to achieve by joining forces with Umicore?

Juraschek: Yes, both partners are embarking on this
project with their own fundamental developments. We are working
together with Umicore on the development of recyclable cell/battery
technology that is then followed by a sustainable production process.
At a later stage, large quantities of material will, of course, be fed
back into the loop for recycling. Before this happens, however, I
foresee a long phase of primary use in vehicles followed by
second-life use in stationary storage devices.

How does this secondary use work exactly?

Juraschek: As far as the BMW Group is concerned,
employing used batteries as stationary energy storage devices is a
logical step towards holistic sustainability. The use of stationary
energy storage devices is set to gain greatly in importance with the
ongoing energy revolution. At times when surplus electrical power is
generated from renewable sources, it can be stored in these stationary
devices. And during periods of low electricity generation, the storage
device can then release the accumulated power. We have already
successfully implemented this type of power grid stabilisation with
used batteries from BMW i3 and MINI E prototypes as part of joint
development projects with partners such as Vattenfall, Bosch and
NextEra. The energy storage farm at BMW Group Plant Leipzig, which
holds a total of 700 BMW i3 batteries, is one example of how
profitable use can be made of batteries at the end of their service
life in vehicles by giving them a second life as part of a sustainable
energy model. This demonstrates once again how the sustainability
concept at BMW i extends far beyond the vehicle.