Neue Klasse: BMW Opens Irlbach-Strasskirchen Battery Plant – Series Production of the Gen6 High-Voltage Battery Begins.

Oct 2

4 min read

From greenfield site to series production in two and a half years: Gen6 high-voltage batteries are now rolling off the line in Lower Bavaria. The first customer is the Munich plant, where the new BMW i3 is built.

The BMW Group has officially opened its new Irlbach-Strasskirchen plant and started series production at the same time. Located in the district of Straubing-Bogen, the site is the central battery plant for BMW's German vehicle plants and a key building block in the ramp-up of the Neue Klasse. Notably, because demand for the new models is higher than expected, production is starting directly in two-shift operation rather than the usual single shift.

Head of Production Raymond Wittmann describes the plant as a central hub supplying the German vehicle plants with sixth-generation high-voltage batteries. BMW has invested around one billion euros in the site.

Record Time Thanks to Broad Support

On the 60-hectare site, less than two years passed between the start of construction in April 2024 and the first pre-series batteries in March 2026. The foundation was laid by a local referendum in September 2023: more than 75 percent of voters in Strasskirchen backed the project, with turnout at around 77 percent.

BMW also relied on regional partners for the build. All directly contracted construction companies came from Germany, two thirds of them from Bavaria. Among the equipment suppliers, more than three quarters are German and one in three is Bavarian.

How a Gen6 High-Voltage Battery Is Built

The Gen6 battery concept is completely new and will be used across all of the BMW Group's vehicle segments. The cylindrical round cells are integrated directly into the battery using the Cell-to-Pack principle, with no conventional modules in between. Through the Pack-to-open-Body concept, the battery itself becomes a load-bearing part of the body structure.

The production process at a glance:

Incoming inspection: Cells from external cell manufacturers undergo additional measurements, such as voltage checks.
Cell clusters: The cells are connected to coolers, ensuring insulation and cooling.
Laser processing: Cell clusters and the cell contacting system are laser-cleaned and precisely welded.
Foaming: A foam joins all elements into a single mechanical unit and, once cured, provides stability and durability.
Housing: The housing is closed, sealed and riveted.
Energy Master: Finally, the central control unit is mounted and sealed with a permanently elastic adhesive sealant.
End-of-line testing: Every single battery is 100 percent tested.

More than 3,500 data points are captured in real time for each battery. In-house AI assistants and agents analyse this data and, together with 500 robots on a 50,000-square-metre production floor, are designed to enable zero-defect manufacturing. Digital twins and VR applications were used for planning and training long before the plant went live. During Gen6 development, BMW filed patent applications for more than 500 innovations.

At full capacity, around 1,600 employees will produce several hundred high-voltage batteries per day on two production lines.

What This Means for the New BMW i3

The batteries from Lower Bavaria go first into the new BMW i3 from Munich. Key figures for the i3 50 xDrive First Edition:

Battery capacity: 108.7 kWh
Range: up to 906 km (WLTP)
DC charging power: up to 400 kW thanks to 800-volt technology
Fast charging: energy for up to 423 km in 10 minutes
Bidirectional charging on board

Fossil-Free Production, Lower CO₂ in the Cell

In regular operation, the plant runs without fossil fuels. An on-site photovoltaic system supplies part of the electricity, with the rest coming entirely from renewable sources. Battery assembly requires no water.

The Gen6 cells in the i3 contain a share of secondary material for cobalt, lithium and nickel. Combined with renewable electricity in the production of anode and cathode materials and in cell manufacturing, CO₂e emissions per watt-hour fall by around 33 percent compared with the Gen5 cell.

Local for Local: Five Battery Plants Worldwide

Irlbach-Strasskirchen is one of five new Gen6 assembly plants that BMW is building close to its vehicle plants. The other sites are Debrecen (Hungary), Shenyang (China), Woodruff (USA) and San Luis Potosí (Mexico). The approach keeps distances between battery and vehicle plants short.

The Bavarian Battery Network

The new plant is part of a network covering the entire value chain:

Battery Cell Competence Center (BCCC), Munich: research into new cell technologies
Cell Manufacturing Competence Center (CMCC), Parsdorf: near-series cell production and testing
Pilot plants in Parsdorf, Hallbergmoos and at the FIZ in Munich: prototypes and development of production processes for the Neue Klasse
Cell Recycling Competence Center (CRCC), Salching: in operation since December 2025, just 16 km from Strasskirchen. Its direct recycling process mechanically dismantles production scrap and entire cells, eliminating energy-intensive chemical or thermal treatment. The centre is operated by Encory GmbH, while BMW holds the intellectual property for the process.

The new plant also strengthens Eastern Bavaria as an industrial location. Around 40 percent of all BMW cars ever built came from Dingolfing and Regensburg, and roughly one fifth of the global workforce works in Dingolfing, Regensburg, Landshut and now Irlbach-Strasskirchen.

With Irlbach-Strasskirchen, BMW closes a key gap in the Neue Klasse ramp-up. Starting directly in two-shift operation is a clear sign of how strong demand for the new electric models is. The interesting question now is how quickly the other German vehicle plants will be supplied from Lower Bavaria.