Germany / BorgWarner – When BorgWarner Inc. acquired the German battery system specialist AKASOL AG in 2021, the move raised eyebrows across the commercial vehicle (CV) industry. For a company that had traditionally focused on internal combustion and hybrid powertrain components, the foray into battery production marked a bold pivot in the U.S. multinational’s business model. According to the then President and CEO, Frédéric Lissalde,  it wasn’t a leap of faith, but rather a calculated response to a rapidly electrifying world.

Fast-forward to 2025, and the results are beginning to show. Our press visit to BorgWarner’s cutting-edge Gigafactory in Darmstadt, Germany (Europe’s largest dedicated battery facility for commercial vehicles) revealed a company that is rapidly accelerating toward the future by betting big on electrification! But as global trade tensions escalate, tariffs begin to take hold, and the U.S. sees a political pivot away from green energy, the broader implications for the electric transition in the CV industry are only just beginning to unfold.

Growth trajectory

Before it acquired AKASOL, BorgWarner had never produced a battery. Today, its battery and charging systems division brought in USD 729 million in net sales in 2024, up from USD 546 million the year before. While overall company revenues dipped slightly to USD 14.1 billion, the electrification segment continues to grow in both scale and strategic importance, according to former CEO Frédéric Lissalde, who retired in February this year.

Speaking at the time of the acquisition, Lissalde set an ambitious target: “We plan to grow our electric vehicle businesses to approximately 45% of total revenues by 2030 under Project Charging Forward.” The Gigafactory in Darmstadt is of course, central to that vision.

Gigafactory 1

Opened in August 2021, the Darmstadt facility, dubbed "Gigafactory 1", is a highly automated campus that produces 80% of BorgWarner’s European battery output. With a current capacity of 3 GWh, BorgWarner plans to reach 5,4 GWh globally by the end of 2025. The factory is tailored for scale, precision, and flexibility.

Guided by General Manager Pawel Tetela, we explored the automated production line, where cylindrical cells are assembled into advanced battery modules. Every few minutes, a new module rolls off the line, and in just 20 minutes, a complete nine-module battery pack is ready.

Module production

Batteries built for CVs

Unlike the sleek packs designed for passenger cars, BorgWarner’s batteries are engineered for heavy-duty use. According to the company, “Its flagship Ultra High Energy (UHE) Gen3 packs are built using cylindrical NMC cells and boast up to 98 kWh per unit, operating at 665 volts. Each pack weighs under 600 kg and is good for more than 4,000 charging cycles, making it ideal for applications in buses, trucks, off-highway equipment, and even marine vessels.”

Bernd Fritsch, Director of Battery Systems at BorgWarner, walked us through the technology stack, integrated in-house Battery Management Systems (BMS), removable contactor boxes for easy servicing, Multi String Managers for optimised energy flow, and onboard data loggers for performance tracking. It’s a robust, modular platform designed to support a diverse range of OEM requirements.

Bernd Fritsch, Director of Battery Systems at BorgWarner

Chemistry wars: NMC vs LFP

While BorgWarner’s early battery systems leveraged NMC chemistries for high energy density, the company is now diversifying into lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Thanks to a licensing agreement with BYD’s FinDreams Battery, BorgWarner gains access to blade cell technology, which is a more cost-effective solution.

Bernd Fritsch told us that “a range of LFP formats are in development, from flat to tall, compact to cubic, all designed with a unified hardware and software architecture for easy integration across commercial platforms.”

Global expansion

Recognising the importance of localised supply chains, BorgWarner has invested heavily in global production. In Seneca, South Carolina, a USD 42 million investment will add 3 GWh of battery module capacity. In Brazil, the Piracicaba facility opened in 2023 and is already supplying Mercedes-Benz with packs for its eO500U electric bus line.

BorgWarner plant in Seneca

These expansions are supported by R&D hubs in Shanghai, Darmstadt, and Auburn Hills. Crucially, BorgWarner is not entering the cell manufacturing fray, a move that doomed other players like Northvolt. Instead, it’s partnering strategically, notably with FinDreams, to secure competitive cell supply without the capital intensity of vertical integration.

It’s worth noting that, at the time of writing, the world is undergoing what U.S. President Donald Trump described as “a reordering of global trade.” The ripple effects of this shift, particularly on critical rare earth minerals and battery cells, remain uncertain for European battery manufacturers such as BorgWarner and Impact Clean Power Technologies.

Quality and longevity: BorgWarner’s USP

The Darmstadt plant includes a 2,000 m² testing lab, where battery modules are put through their paces: thermal, vibration, corrosion, and water resistance tests ensure that each pack meets the rigorous demands of commercial duty cycles.

BorgWarner test centre shaker with battery system

Dr. Bjoern Eberleh, Manager of Product Integrity, spoke passionately about CBES (Circular Battery Eco System) priorities. “We are preparing now for the EU Battery Passport,” he said, referring to regulations coming into force in 2027 that require full lifecycle traceability. BorgWarner’s circularity strategy includes Remanufacture, Repurpose, and Recycle, which is not just greenwashing. It's core to European competitiveness in an era of raw material scarcity and geopolitical volatility. “Keeping the recycled rare earth minerals within the European economy is key to our industry”, he emphasised.

Dr. Bjoern Eberleh, Manager of Product Integrity

Staying Competitive in a Politicised Industry

As the global battery race heats up, BorgWarner faces tough competition from Chinese giants like CATL, buoyed by state-backed access to African rare earth mineral mines and a dominant stake in global cell production. The U.S./ China trade war complicates matters further, with potential rare earth export restrictions choking Western battery supply chains, as reported by the Financial Times on 8 April 2025.

How can BorgWarner stay competitive? The answer from Bernd Fritsch, “to focus on what we (BorgWarner) do best, building robust, modular, and safe battery systems, leveraging partnerships rather than trying to own the whole value chain.” It’s betting that a nimble, regionally diversified approach will win out over vertical monopolies in a volatile geopolitical environment.

Current gains

Already, one in five electric buses in North America runs on a BorgWarner battery. The company’s recent CV contracts, including a major order in Georgia, highlight growing market traction. These battery packs are packed with safety features: overcharge protection, cell-level disconnection, active cooling, and best-in-class energy densities of 280Wh/l and 185 Wh/kg.

The future

In an industry often accused of being slow to change, BorgWarner is moving fast and with purpose. As Europe tightens regulations, U.S. policy fluctuates, and China doubles down on battery dominance, BorgWarner’s strategic bets on chemistry flexibility, regional diversification, and systems-level integration position it as a serious contender in the global battery space. If the electrification journey is a marathon and not a sprint, BorgWarner wants to do more than keep up, it wants to set the pace!

BorgWarner LFP flat pack

Geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty

To fully contextualise this, we need to zoom out to the broader geopolitical and macroeconomic landscape. A central theme emerging from this year’s Davos forum (January 20–24) was deregulation, echoed by both EU policymakers and business leaders. Ana Botín, Executive Chair of Banco Santander, put it bluntly: “Europe is at risk of becoming a museum.” While America innovates, China replicates, and Europe regulates, this formula is unlikely to sustain competitiveness in an increasingly globalised world.

Businesses are calling for stability. Consumers demand quality at a fair price. So, where does that leave Europe in the short to medium term? Growing pains are inevitable, but the real question is: who will have the vision and courage to enact the reforms necessary to keep Europe in the race long-term? And what exactly will that vision look like? These are the challenges that will define the next chapter.