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The official commissioning of the battery storage farm on the grounds of BMW Plant Leipzig, Germany demonstrates innovative, sustainable and profitable second use of BMW i3 batteries after a vehicle reaches the end of its lifecycle.

The battery storage unit in Leipzig can house up to 700 used BMW i3 high-capacity batteries. There are currently 500 new and used batteries integrated, because today – six years after the BMW i3 market launch – most battery packs are still in cars on the road. The capacity of 700 high-voltage batteries is the equivalent of an electric range of 100,000 km in a BMW i3 vehicle. The scalable approach means that the storage unit could be further expanded to accommodate more batteries. It is also already compatible with upcoming battery generations and therefore future-proof.

With wind turbines located on the grounds of the plant, the BMW Battery Storage Farm Leipzig links decentralised captive production from renewable energies with local energy storage and an industrial consumer in a completely unique way. The stationary battery storage farm is also integrated with the public power grid, which enables its electricity to be marketed as primary balancing power. In this way, the BMW Group is making a contribution to the stability of the public power grid and performing a valuable function for the wider community.