Borgwarner adds battery packs to its portfolio
BorgWarner announced a new joint venture to add battery packs to its portfolio BorgWarner is continuing to build its electrification portfolio and systems expertise by agreeing to form a joint venture with Romeo Power Technology, a battery packs and modules supplier. This new joint venture will be split 60/40 with BorgWarner obtaining the larger share. […]
BorgWarner announced a new joint venture to add battery packs to its portfolio
BorgWarner is continuing to build its electrification portfolio and systems expertise by agreeing to form a joint venture with Romeo Power Technology, a battery packs and modules supplier. This new joint venture will be split 60/40 with BorgWarner obtaining the larger share.
Joel Wiegert, President and General Manager BorgWarner Morse Systems, said: «This joint venture will not only complement our strong existing propulsion portfolio, but we expect it to fill a gap in the marketplace between battery cell manufacturers and hybrid and electric vehicle customers. We believe our global engineering and manufacturing footprint enables us to quickly commercialize cutting-edge technology, delivering even more value to our customers».
The benefits of this new project
BorgWarner believes that together with Romeo’s leading battery module and pack technology it will meet a new wide range of customers’ battery-electric vehicle needs. The battery modules and packs will very likely include intelligent battery management systems with proprietary algorithms for enhanced performance and cycle life, as well as proprietary thermal engineering for active and passive cooling. The addition of battery packs will energize BorgWarner’s existing product portfolio for hybrid and electric vehicles that includes electric motors, power electronics, high-voltage battery heaters, eAxle iDMs, onboard battery chargers and much more.
BORGWARNER’S ICTA (INTELLIGENT CAM TORQUE ACTUATION)
Michael Patterson, Romeo Power Technology Founder and Ceo, added: «This joint venture will help Romeo take a big step in the battery mobility sector by adding BorgWarner’s scale and resources. Romeo has a fantastic team that has accomplished a lot in the last four years. And now we’ll continue our progress, with the ability and resources to grow and accomplish our mission of advancing energy technology».
The joint venture will encompass the mobility portion of the battery pack business, initially focused on performance and light vehicles. BorgWarner will also take a 20 percent equity position in Romeo Power Technology and will fill two seats on its board. The equity investment and the joint venture will probably close in the second quarter of 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Other important acquisitions
BorgWarner’s strategic acquisition of companies involved in vehicle electrification, to complement its organic efforts, started in 2015 with the acquisition of Remy International, a manufacturer of rotating electrical components such as alternators, starter motors and electric traction motors for the automotive and commercial vehicle industry. In 2017, BorgWarner acquired Sevcon, a global player in electrification technologies. Sevcon complemented BorgWarner’s power electronics capabilities and also added onboard charging to the portfolio.
In February 2019, BorgWarner announced it formed Cascadia Motion and acquired two Oregon-based businesses, Rinehart Motion Systems and AM Racing and merged their operations into a new, wholly owned company focused on electric and hybrid propulsion solutions for niche and emerging applications.
