BMW sources cobalt worth 100 million Euros for EV batteries

- The brand will cease to use rare earths in its fifth-generation electric drive trains from 2021

As a result of the expansion of electromobility, the BMW Group is sourcing the cobalt it needs as a key raw material for battery cells, directly from a Moroccan mining company (Managem Group).

With this order, the BMW Group will cover about a fifth of its cobalt needs for the fifth-generation of its electric drive trains. The company will source the remaining four-fifths of its cobalt requirements from Australia. The contract between the BMW Group and the Managem Group is for a term of five years (2020 - 2025), the memorandum of understanding for which has already been signed earlier this year.

Andreas Wendt, Purchasing and Supplier Network, BMW, said, “Cobalt is an important raw material for electromobility. By signing this supply contract with Managem today, we are continuing to secure our raw material needs for battery cells. We are systematically driving the electrification of our vehicle fleet. By 2023, we aim to have 25 electrified models in our line-up; more than half of them fully-electric. Our need for raw materials will increase in line with this. For cobalt alone, we expect our needs to roughly triple by 2025.”

For BMW’s fifth generation of battery cells, the company has also restructured its supply chains. It will directly source lithium, as well as cobalt, from 2020 onwards, and make these raw materials available to its two battery cell manufacturers, CATL (Chinese battery manufacturer) and Samsung SDI.