BMW and Rimac Technology partner on future high-voltage battery tech

As with all trends, different manufacturers are experiencing different fortunes during the current EV vicissitudes. After an expensive learning and adaptation stage with the first i3, BMW finds itself on the high side currently, deliveries of the i4, iX1, and i7 up 41% in the first quarter of the year and the Munich automaker projecting 20% of its global deliveries in 2024 will be battery-electric. Hitting the 20% target would be a 5% gain over 2023. Continuing to look to the future, BMW announced it has signed a long-term partnership with Rimac Technology to «co-develop and co-produce innovative solutions in field of high-voltage battery technology for selected battery-electric vehicles.» This means high-voltage (800 volts or more) packs and architectures for future BMW products, neither automaker hinting at what those products might be.  

And to clarify the connection, Rimac Technology is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rimac Group. The tech division, more than ten years old, has become an EV engineering supplier for various automakers; it helped with the hybrid battery system in the Aston Martin Valkyrie, produced the pack in the Koenigsegg Regera and the powertrain in the Pininfarina Battista, and worked with Jaguar Classic Works on the E-Type Zero.

The BMW move signals a shift into mainstream development, compelling changes to the Rimac Campus headquarters in Croatia (pictured above). CEO Mate Rimac said the partnership «marks a significant milestone for Rimac Technology, as it represents the largest and most ambitious project the company has undertaken to-date.» Fulfilling the terms means adding «sophisticated automated production lines for batteries» at the campus, a «significant portion» of the site dedicated to the project. The company reportedly wants to supply at least 100,000 batteries to OEMs annually by 2026.

It appears the BMW news dovetails off ventures finalized late last year. Rimac began work on an EV platform called 46XX as least two years ago that would utilize 46-millimeter cells, the company's head of research and advanced engineering telling Automotive News Europe «The new module platform forms the basis of most of our future