The usage of a turbocharger on an electric motor is nothing new. Many aftermarket tuners have done it and some automakers have experimented on it. But no company have ever implemented it on a production vehicle. BMW has now filed a patent for its electric turbocharger design and they may be the first automaker to use such technology.
BMW recently filed a German patent for its electric turbocharger design and implementation wise, it may take a while before we get to see it being used on their production vehicles. But at least, we know that someone or some company is developing such technology.
Before I continue on how the electric turbocharger works, let me explain a little about turbochargers and also on small turbo vs. a big turbo, for those who don