BMW may build battery plant in Irlbach, Lower Bavaria
BMW now has building permission for the planned battery plant in the Lower Bavarian communities of Irlbach and Straßkirchen.
BMW will build a bus stop: The future Irlbach plant from the architect's perspective.
(Bild: BMW)
BMW has received planning permission for the planned battery plant in the Lower Bavarian communities of Irlbach and Straßkirchen. The site is located around 40 kilometers north of its largest European car plant in Dingolfing. At the end of March 2024, BMW obtained early planning permission for the first construction phase, which covers an area of around 60 hectares, and began removing soil, setting up the construction site and erecting construction and office containers. The site covers a total area of 105 hectares.
1600 new jobs
At the new site in Lower Bavaria, BMW will assemble the traction batteries for the production of its electric cars at its plants in Munich, Dingolfing and Regensburg from the cells of its suppliers. BMW promises to create around 1600 jobs at this production site when the first construction phase is completed. Initially, there was talk of around 1000 jobs.
BMW intends to distribute the land, which is suitable for agricultural use, to agricultural businesses in the region. The local agricultural associations, the government of Lower Bavaria and the Deggendorf water management authority are to be involved in this process. This was preceded by a referendum in Straßkirchen in September 2023, which resulted in a clear majority of over 75 percent of votes cast in favor of locating the assembly plant, with a high voter turnout of almost 77 percent.
BMW is also building battery factories for electric cars in Debrecen, Hungary, near the US plant in Spartanburg, in Mexico and in China. Because the batteries are large and heavy, car manufacturers are trying to locate them as close as possible to the car plants. BMW is also building a test facility for batteries and electric drive components at its Wackersdorf site in the Upper Palatinate. From 2024, the car manufacturer will be testing high-voltage batteries and other components of the electric drivetrain, such as inverters for future electric cars, on an area of more than 8000 square meters.
(fpi)