BorgWarner, Romeo Power Technology form joint venture

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% equity position in Romeo Power and will fill two seats on its board. The equity investment and the joint venture are expected to close in the second quarter of 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. In a press release issued this week, BorgWarner said that it believes bringing together BorgWarner's customer, product launch and quality excellence with Romeo's leading battery module and pack technology will meet a wide range of customers' battery-electric vehicle needs. The battery modules and packs are expected to 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 Morse Systems President and GM Joel Wiegert 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." "This joint venture will help Romeo take a big step in the battery mobility sector by adding BorgWarner's scale and resources," said Michael Patterson, Romeo Power Technology founder and CEO. "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." BorgWarner has manufacturing and technical facilities in 68 locations in 19 countries, the company employs approximately 30,000 worldwide. The company is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Romeo Power Technology designs advanced battery packs for e-mobility. The company was formed in 2015 in Santa Monica, California, with the stated vision of ending energy poverty.