U.S. battery company Solid Power said it had partnered with BMW to develop the next-generation solid-state battery technology for use in electric vehicles.
BMW will assist in advancing Solid Power's technology to achieve performance levels required for high-performance EVs, Solid Power said in a statement on Monday.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Solid-state battery technology is high-capacity energy storage that improves on today's lithium-ion batteries, replacing the liquid or gel-form electrolyte with a solid, conductive material. Among other benefits, the new technology offers more capacity and better safety.
Carmakers are trying to lower the cost of electric vehicles by investing in the development of affordable but powerful batteries.
Established in 2012, Solid Power says its solid-state rechargeable batteries could lower costs because of the potential for eliminating many of the costly safety features associated with lithium-ion systems.
Toyota, which has called the technology a "game changer" for EVs, plans to commercialize solid-state batteries and roll out an electric vehicle in the early 2020s powered by them.
German supplier Continental is considering investing in the technology, CEO Elmar Degenhart told Automobilwoche, a sister publication of Automotive News Europe, in an interview in November.
