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Home | Green Cars News | Hybrids | BMW to Use Daimler’s Lithium-Ion Battery Technology

BMW to Use Daimler’s Lithium-Ion Battery Technology

10 March, 2008 08:00:00

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As we earlier reported Continental will supply Daimler with lithium-ion batteries when Mercedes-Benz launches its S-class diesel hybrid next year, but will also offer similar batteries to BMW.

According to the WSJ, Daimler and Continental will share their new lithium-ion battery technology with BMW as part of Daimler and BMW's cooperation agreement on developing hybrid technology.

Daimler’s executive board member Thomas Weber confirmed the agreement. BMW chairman, Norbert Reithofer, had previously referred to the technology as a joint development with BMW, at the BMW press conference at the Geneva Show. The companies appear to have come to a financial arrangement whereby BMW has contributed to the development costs in return for gaining access to the technology shortly after Daimler.

Continental will be able to offer similar batteries to other suppliers, without breaking the terms of its arrangement with Daimler. Daimler holds 25 patents for the technology. Continental is system integrator and battery supplier, while the battery cells will come from a joint venture between Johnson Controls and the French company Saft.(read more)

General Motors could also benefit from the technology. GM has already engaged Continental as a development partner for lithium-ion batteries. Continental could gain an important edge over Korean battery maker LG Chem in the race to supply General Motors with battery packs for its Chevrolet Volt electric car due to come toward the end of 2010.(read more)

Continental is the first big automotive supplier to start series production of automotive lithium-ion batteries. Continental is setting up a line at its plant in Nürnberg to build up to 2,500 batteries a year. However, if demand did rise, Continental could also produce the batteries at other plants in the US, Asia or Eastern Europe. The German company sees its role mainly as system supplier and integrator. It is talking to a range of battery cell suppliers to produce the batteries in the future.

At the Geneva Motor Show BMW will be showing off the "Vision EfficeintDynamics"
which will be better known as a diesel-hybrid-powered X5 concept hybrid system through
an eight-speed automatic transmission.
BMW says the X5 Vision gets 36.2 mpg (6.5-liters per 100 km) and produces 172 g/km of
CO2--more than 6 mpg and 42 g/km better than the most environmentally friendly X5 on
sale today, the 235-hp, turbocharged, 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder diesel 3.0d. (read more)

The S 400 BlueHYBRID consumes only 7.9 liters of gasoline per 100 km in the NEDC.
This results in very low CO2 emissions of only 190 grams per kilometer.
And S 400 BlueHYBRID drivers will still enjoy impressive performance: combined with the
hybrid module, the maximum output is 220 kW/299 hp, and the corresponding maximum
torque is 375 Nm. The S 400 BlueHYBRID accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds
on its way to an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h. (read more)

Daimler and Continental are convinced that hybrid drivetrains have a big future, particularly in large cars. This is the case both in the US and Europe, and if costs can come down quickly, demand could grow suddenly. Mercedes is already talking about launching a mild hybrid with a lithium-ion battery in the E-Class in 2010, although planned full hybrid version so the M-Class and G-Class will use conventional nickel-hydride batteries.

At the Geneva motor Show Daimler AG said it has achieved a crucial breakthrough in lithium-ion battery technology. The engineers’ success is above all a result of the Daimler-developed integration of the lithium-ion battery into the vehicle’s climate control system. This ensures that the battery always works at optimal system temperatures of between 15 and 35°C, which in turn makes it possible for the battery to provide long service life and maximum performance.

[source: Just-Auto / Subscription required]

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