BMW Group has signed an agreement with a battery company to introduce an advanced battery in the iX, giving it an estimated 965 km of range!

The agreement from the German giant and Our Next Energy (ONE) is an interesting one as it addresses some of the issues around electrification.

As a reminder, despite the advances in tech, there will always be detractors who insist that range anxiety will always be a thing, and the mining of the materials used in the batteries is not entirely ethical or eco-friendly. ONE aims to change that with its advanced battery tech.

The Gemini Dual-Chemistry battery is claimed to reduce lithium use by 20%, reduce graphite use by 60% and there are reductions in the use of nickel and cobalt. It’s a more sustainable battery system and the best part is the power on offer. There’s simply more energy packed into ONE’s battery than a standard unit.

The BMW Group and ONE agreement will see a BMW iX be tested with this new battery, with completion by the end of 2022. The range claim is staggering, with over 950 km on a single charge which is almost double that of the standard car. We’re big fans of the BMW iX and spent a considerable time behind the wheel of this brilliant vehicle. If this prototype is a success, you can expect this tech to be rolled out into BMW Group products in the future.

“We are thrilled to be working with BMW to demonstrate our Gemini long-range battery technology to consumers,” said Mujeeb Ijaz, founder and CEO of ONE. “As EV adoption grows, drivers are learning that real-world conditions can significantly reduce the performance of their batteries. Common situations like maintaining highway speeds, winter temperatures, climbing mountains, towing, or a combination of all four things present challenges to electric vehicles.We plan to pack twice as much energy into batteries, so EVs can easily handle long-distance driving in real-world conditions.”

“We are well-positioned to incorporate ONE’s IP into BMW’s SAV line,” said Jürgen Hildinger, BMW Group New Technologies Head of High Voltage Storage. “We are confident that given economic viability, this can lead to commercial opportunities and strategies to integrate ONE’s battery technologies into models of our future BEV product line-up.”

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