BMW has announced the installation of all 1,066 concrete pillars for its high-voltage battery assembly plant at the Irlbach-Strasskirchen site in Lower Bavaria, Germany.

This milestone comes just over six months after the building permit was granted.

The structure is on track to be completed by the end of the year, the automotive giant said.

The final pillar was placed using a mobile construction crane, marking the culmination of around 16 weeks of work since construction began in late June.

Alongside the pillars, significant progress has been made on various building elements, including prefabricated fire and interior walls, stairwells, and concrete ceilings.

When operational, the approximately 150,000m2 facility will produce sixth-generation high-voltage batteries for BMW’s Neue Klasse vehicles.

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 Alexander Kiy, overall Project Manager Plant Construction in Irlbach-Strasskirchen, said: “We received construction permission for our new assembly plant just six months ago. In cooperation with the authorities, we were able to successfully complete one of Germany’s fastest building permit processes in April 2024.

“In less than half a year, all pillars are now in place. The structure of the central production building is clearly visible.”

The establishment of this site is projected to create around 1,600 jobs.

The Irlbach-Strasskirchen location is one of five global assembly plants dedicated to the new generation of high-voltage batteries, marking a strategic step in BMW’s electrification efforts.

Silvia Meyer, Head of High-Voltage Battery Real Estate Management in Lower Bavaria, said: “Cooperation across locations helps us a lot to implement the five similar construction projects worldwide at high speed. We benefit from the experience of projects with different degrees of progress.

“Beside us, our colleagues, who plan the assembly process and logistics, are already using digital production planning. It helps all of us. We identify interfaces at an early stage and discuss solutions in virtual space and can counteract potential collisions at an early stage.”