Bavaria's answer to the Tesla Gigafactory in Brandenburg: BMW is planning a huge battery plant in Lower Bavaria - in the middle of undulating grain fields.
There is conflict on the ground.
Straubing-Bogen - The Gäuboden with the most fertile soils in Bavaria in the district of Straubing-Bogen is the granary of the Free State.
Malting barley, sugar beets and cucumbers are grown here, with the Danube rippling in the background against the backdrop of the Bayerwald mountains.
In the midst of this rural idyll, the auto multinational BMW is planning a huge factory for car batteries that will power the new electric models of the white-blue car manufacturer.
The proximity of the two existing BMW plants in Regensburg and Dingolfing, where the new electric racers are assembled, was decisive for the choice of location.
The main plant in Munich is also to be supplied with high-voltage batteries from Lower Bavaria.
BMW factory to be built from 2024 - smaller than Tesla factory in Brandenburg
Yesterday, BMW announced the purchase of the 105-hectare site on the corridors of the communities of Irlbach and Straßkirchen (district of Straubing-Bogen).
For comparison: The Gigafactory in Brandenburg is 300 hectares in size.
Construction of the BMW battery factory is scheduled to start in 2024.
1000 jobs are to be created there.
BMW is also building similar battery factories for electric cars in Debrecen, Hungary, near the US plant in Spartanburg, in Mexico and in China.
Because the batteries are large and heavy, car manufacturers try to locate them as close as possible to the car plants.
(By the way: Our Bayern newsletter informs you about all the important stories from Bavaria. Register here.)
Local politicians welcome factory plans
The district administrators of the region received the planned location of the large factory in the arable land positively, the municipality of Straßkirchen, which lies on the B8 Straubing-Passau, hopes for the construction of a long-awaited bypass road.
+
The BMW plant in Regensburg
© Wikipedia/Strehl
But there are also critics: A month ago, a local citizens' initiative called "Livable Gäuboden" was formed, which campaigns for the preservation of the arable land in front of Straßkirchen and collects signatures.
"The construction of a plant for the assembly of high-voltage batteries for e-mobility, which the BMW Group is aiming for, will force a huge structural change on our village and the entire region," criticize the opponents.
Food for 4,000 people is still being produced on the factory site
The acreage to be sacrificed would feed 4,000 people.
There are also concerns about traffic growth and light pollution.
There have already been several protest actions.
BMW is trying to appease its opponents: "The experts from the BMW Group are working together with architects on coherent architectural concepts that take into account the local conditions, the use of regional raw materials and recycling materials and a harmonious exterior lighting to reduce light emissions," it said yesterday in a press release.
The flat building structures, some with green roofs, should blend in well with the landscape.
Photovoltaic systems are also planned for the roofs.
"In order to compensate for the development of the area, ecological upgrading measures are being taken in the vicinity of the planned location."
You can always read all the news from all over Bavaria with us. News and stories from Bavaria can now also be found on our brand new Facebook page Merkur Bayern.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/2C5HI6YHNFHDLJSBNWHOIAS2AE.jpeg)
