Envision AESC hat die 46er-Zylinderbatterien produziert und wird sie der globalen Elektromobilplattform von BMW liefern | Die neuesten Nachrichten

Recently, Envision AESC announced that the company's 46-series cylindrical batteries were completed at its gigafactory in Jiangyin, Wuxi, and the first batches have already been shipped to the United States to supply vehicles on BMW's global electric vehicle platform.

At Tesla's "Battery Day" in 2020, Elon Musk first introduced the large cylindrical battery and planned for mass production within three years. This battery has a diameter of 46 millimeters and a height of 80 millimeters, so it is called the 4680 battery. According to Musk's original expectation, the 4680 battery can reduce manufacturing costs by about 20%, equipment investment costs by 35%, and factory floor space by 70%. Compared with the 21700 battery, the single - cell energy is increased by five times and the power by six times.

Spurred on by Tesla, automobile companies in China and around the world have all bet on the large cylindrical battery. Among them are automakers such as BMW, Volvo, and NIO, as well as battery manufacturers such as EVE Energy, CATL, and Envision AESC. However, Tesla only started small - scale production of its large cylindrical battery in 2023 and only announced mass production of the dry cathode this year.

Meanwhile, automakers such as NIO have abandoned their plans to use large cylindrical batteries in vehicles. BMW is one of the few manufacturers that adheres to the large - cylindrical battery technology and is the second manufacturer after Tesla to announce mass production and installation of large cylindrical batteries in vehicles.

According to Envision AESC, the 46 - series cylindrical battery supplied by the company for BMW uses a nickel - rich cathode and a silicon - doped anode. The maximum specific energy of a single cell is about 310 Wh/kg, and the specific energy of the entire battery pack is about 20% higher than that of the batteries currently used by BMW, which can increase the range of BMW vehicles by 30%. In addition, this battery supports fast - charging technologies with a charging current of 6C and higher and enables a quick charge from 10% to 80% in just 10 minutes.

Moreover, this battery generates less heat per single cell. Through the combination of thermoelectric separation and directional pressure relief, the spread of thermal runaway between cells is reduced, which improves the battery's safety.

In terms of platform compatibility, the 46 - series cell supports all voltage platforms from 400 to 1000 V and covers the entire vehicle range from Class A to D, which can reduce the development costs and time for the whole vehicle.

In the future, the BMW models equipped with 46 - series cylindrical batteries will be the globally available BMW X7 and X3, as well as the X5 and X6 intended for the North American and Latin American markets. To ensure the supply of these models, Envision AESC has already installed a more efficient production system at its gigafactory in Cangzhou, Hebei, and mass production will start in the second half of this year.