Disposable tech is out. Bang & Olufsen and BREATHE Battery Technologies are leading the shift towards lasting intelligent design. Together, they are reimagining timeless technology – where performance meets beauty, and longevity and circularity are engineered from the outset.
By integrating BREATHE’s battery software into future product development, Bang & Olufsen is deepening its commitment to creating long-lasting, future-ready products that deliver exceptional sound and design. This marks the beginning of a new era: one where technology is designed to endure, and where one of the most critical limitations in modern electronics – battery lifespan – is finally being addressed.
Battery longevity means more years of enjoyment, less waste, and a lower environmental footprint. At a time when batteries are still widely treated as consumables, Bang & Olufsen is taking an ambitious path, investing in intelligent technologies that challenge this outdated model. This collaboration embeds battery health into the core of Bang & Olufsen’s design philosophy, where smarter battery design, integration and control is central to performance, innovation and circularity. By rethinking battery health from the inside out, this collaboration delivers:
- Holistic battery system optimisation – unique end user experiences via the ideal balance of product attributes
- Extended lifespan – enjoy more years of seamless performance
- Reduced environmental impact – less waste, fewer replacements, lower footprint
- Circular by design – where every element, including the battery, is engineered with the full product lifecycle in mind
Replaceability remains important, but Bang & Olufsen’s vision goes further: a future where batteries are as capable and durable as the product itself.
A Software-First Approach to Battery Innovation
This partnership underpins Bang & Olufsen’s commitment to pairing technology innovation with timeless design, advancing the technology dimension of its Luxury Timeless Technology strategy.
BREATHE’s software: BREATHE Design, BREATHE Model, and BREATHE Charge will be embedded into B&O’s product development process. Together these tools enable smarter battery design, more precise system modelling, and intelligent charging strategies that extend battery lifespan.
This software-defined approach allows Bang & Olufsen to achieve longer-lasting performance, greater design freedom and lower technical risk, all while enabling beautiful aesthetics and without requiring users to change behaviour.
The result is a new kind of battery experience – adaptive, intelligent, and built to endure.
Mads Kogsgaard Hansen, Director of Product Circularity & Portfolio Planning at Bang & Olufsen, comments “At Bang & Olufsen, we believe true luxury is measured in longevity. This partnership with BREATHE enables us to take a decisive step forward in designing battery powered products that not only sound and look extraordinary, but also endure. By embedding intelligent battery management into our development process, we are tackling one of the greatest limitations in modern electronics – battery lifespan – and transforming it into a strength. This is about creating products that stay in use for longer, are easier for users to maintain, reducing waste and preserving the integrity of design. It’s a natural extension of our Luxury Timeless Technology strategy, where performance, circularity, and beauty go hand in hand.”
Dr. Ian Campbell, CEO of Breathe Battery Technologies, said: “At BREATHE, we’ve always believed batteries should empower design, not limit it. Partnering with Bang & Olufsen, a company that has defined timeless craftmanship for a century, gives us the chance to show how software can unlock new possibilities for performance and longevity. We’re proud to support their vision, and confident this partnership will help set a new standard for what battery-powered luxury can mean for the future.”
At the core of this partnership is a shared belief in engineering excellence and long-term product integrity, with focus on:
- Longevity – extending the usable life of batteries
- Repairability – even where design constraints make it challenging today
- Product preservation – a commitment to keeping products in use, not in landfill
Both companies are united in the view that luxury should not come at the expense of responsibility and that future-ready design is built on transparency, trust, and intent.
Technology That Learns, Adapts, and Lasts
At the core of this collaboration is a next-generation concept: the software-defined battery. A battery where design is influenced by software, where product integration is realised with battery simulation, and where battery control is made dynamic to evolve with individual users and with battery health.
Rather than accepting the industry norm of treating batteries as consumables, Bang & Olufsen is using BREATHE’s software for product development, including to manage and protect battery performance dynamically – continuously adapting behaviour over time based on how each product is used. This approach:
- Helps maximise longevity
- Preserves performance across real-world usage scenarios
- Enables more robust, future-proof battery architectures
BREATHE’s software – already proven in demanding sectors like smartphones and electric vehicles – will now help Bang & Olufsen define a new standard for luxury audio products.
This is just the beginning, laying the groundwork for a future where product longevity and timeless performance are not aspirations but defining characteristics.
What Customers Can Expect
A more robust user experience, enhancing luxury:
- Extended battery lifespan – keeping luxury audio products performing better for longer.
- Intelligent, adaptive charging – protecting battery health over time.
- Repairability – increasing repair and replacement options, to work in combination with software, to deliver customers the best experience.
Through this partnership, customers gain software-defined battery performance, ensuring the products they love stay extraordinary, for years to come.
