Each pack goes through laser welding, foaming, sealing and a 100 percent end-of-line inspection before it ships to a vehicle plant
(Image courtesy of BMW Group)
BMW Group has opened its Irlbach-Straßkirchen plant in Bavaria and started series production of sixth-generation high-voltage batteries, with the first packs going to Munich for the new BMW i3. BMW’s “cell-to-pack” design places cylindrical cells directly in the pack, which then forms part of the vehicle body, so the factory builds a structural component as well as an energy store.
A Gen6 battery plant built for Germany’s Neue Klasse network
BMW describes the site as the central platform that will supply sixth-generation packs to its German vehicle plants, and Plant Munich is already receiving them for the i3. Strong demand for Neue Klasse models pushed the ramp-up ahead of plan, according to the group, with series production running on two shifts from day one.
Construction started in April 2024 on a 60-hectare site, and the first pre-series battery followed in March 2026, less than two years later. BMW puts the investment at around one billion euros and credits close cooperation between the company, authorities and regional partners, along with digital planning and management tools. It also points to local backing, with more than 75 percent of Straßkirchen residents approving the plant in a September 2023 referendum on turnout of around 77 percent.
How the Gen6 high-voltage battery is built at Irlbach-Straßkirchen
Under the cell-to-pack approach, cylindrical cells go directly into the high-voltage battery, and the battery serves as an integral part of the body structure in what BMW calls “pack-to-open-body”. On the line, cells from leading cell manufacturers first go through extra checks on arrival, including voltage measurements. Next comes cell clustering, where the cells are connected to coolers for insulation and cooling. A laser process then cleans and welds the cell clusters and the cell contact system, and a foaming step follows. BMW says the hardened foam protects the assembly as a mechanical unit and supports the battery’s safety, stability and durability. Finally the housing is closed, sealed and riveted, the Energy Master control unit goes on, and every battery passes a 100 percent end-of-line inspection.
Throughout, BMW collects more than 3,500 data points per battery and monitors them in real time. The company says its in-house AI assistants and agents, together with 500 robots working across 50,000 square metres, are intended to support zero-defect battery production. Digital twins and virtual reality applications supported planning and employee training well before commissioning. Once fully operational, BMW expects the plant to employ around 1,600 people and produce several hundred batteries a day on two lines, supporting the wider Neue Klasse ramp-up.
Rudolf Hummelsberger, head of high-voltage battery production for Dingolfing and Irlbach-Straßkirchen, says the plant shows how quickly a new battery concept can scale. He credits a skilled team and experience shared across the production network.
What the Gen6 battery delivers in the new BMW i3
The i3 built in Munich is the vehicle taking the plant’s output at the start of series production. Its high-voltage battery holds 108.7 kWh, and the i3 50 xDrive First Edition reaches up to 906 kilometres on the WLTP cycle. The 800-volt system allows DC fast charging at up to 400 kW, which BMW says can add up to 423 kilometres of range in 10 minutes at a DC fast charger under ISO 12906 in the WLTP cycle. The car also offers bidirectional charging.
The Gen6 cells for the i3 use secondary materials for a portion of their cobalt, lithium and nickel, and renewable energy goes into anode and cathode materials and cell manufacturing. Against the Gen5 cell, BMW says CO2e emissions per watt-hour fell by approximately 33 percent. At the plant itself, the company says regular operations use no fossil fuels, a photovoltaic system covers part of the electricity demand, the rest comes from renewable sources, and battery assembly needs no water.
Where the Irlbach-Straßkirchen battery plant fits in BMW’s network
Irlbach-Straßkirchen is one of five Gen6 battery assembly plants that BMW is building close to its vehicle plants under a local for local principle. The others are in Debrecen in Hungary, Shenyang in China, Woodruff in the USA and San Luis Potosí in Mexico. The same thinking shaped the build, as every directly contracted construction company came from Germany, two thirds of them from Bavaria, and more than three quarters of the plant engineering firms are German.
Within Bavaria, the plant is part of a battery network that runs from research to recycling. Pilot plants in Parsdorf and Hallbergmoos and the Research and Innovation Center in Munich assemble Neue Klasse battery prototypes and prove out production processes, then pass what works to battery plants worldwide. The Battery Cell Competence Center in Munich explores new cell technologies, and the Cell Manufacturing Competence Center in Parsdorf makes and tests cells under near-series conditions.
The Cell Recycling Competence Center in Salching, just 16 kilometres from Straßkirchen, began operating in December 2025. It uses direct recycling, which mechanically dismantles residual material from cell production and even whole cells instead of relying on energy-intensive chemical or thermal processing. Encory GmbH builds and runs the site, while BMW owns the intellectual property for the method.
Milan Nedeljković, BMW AG Board Member for Production, said the Eastern Bavaria location was well suited to support further growth in demand for fully electric vehicles.
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