BMW to make Solid Power’s battery cells under expanded agreement

(Reuters) – Solid Power Inc said on Wednesday it will offer some intellectual property rights related to its solid-state batteries to BMW and allow production of the battery cells at the automaker’s facilities in Germany.

Colorado-based Solid Power will license the cell design and manufacturing processes to BMW, which will pay the company $20 million through June 2024, subject to certain conditions.

As part of the agreement, Solid Power will retain the intellectual property rights related to its electrolyte material, which it will supply to BMW once the carmaker’s battery production lines are up and running.

BMW, an investor in Solid Power, already has an agreement to receive finished battery cells.

Solid Power, which went public in December last year, is among a group of companies trying to create next-generation batteries for electric vehicles, aiming to solve some issues related to lithium-ion batteries that are currently is use.

Solid-state batteries use a solid electrolyte, compared with a liquid one in lithium-ion batteries, and have a lower risk of catching fire.

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)