Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPTResearch project "DigiDryBatt"
Sustainable coating processes for battery production
Electromobility is environmentally friendly because it produces no harmful emissions; however, producing the lithium-ion batteries it needs pollutes the environment. For this reason, battery research is looking into new manufacturing processes that save resources such as water and energy and do without environmentally harmful solvents.
The dry battery electrode (DBE) process is one such approach: This process applies the electrode material to a film instead of a solvent-based electrode material; the latter, as used conventional processes, needs a great deal of energy and time for drying. In addition to saving time and energy, DBE process also saves space by eliminating the need for drying ovens. Battery manufacturers can thus make the production line more compact. To date, no industrial series process for dry coating has been established for e-mobility. Production technology is now facing this challenge.
Continuous production: Combining individual technologies in the R2R machine
In the "DigiDryBatt" research project, a German-Korean consortium is building a fully functional digitalized production system for the industrial dry coating of electrodes. This roll-to-roll system (R2R) has inline measuring systems and integrates artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate measurement data and other process parameters.
The project team relies on various individual technologies and components for the dry coating of electrodes: The Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS has developed a dry electrode technology and patented it under the name "DRYtraec®" (dry transfer electrode coating). The scientists are integrating this technology, together with sensor technology from the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS, into the R2R machine.
As a further component of the R2R system, Fraunhofer IPT is contributing a dry mixer designed by project partner Nanointech. Fraunhofer IPT is responsible for designing the machine architecture. To this end, it brings together all components and technologies on the R2R platform and puts them into operation. This includes integrating the control system and an efficient path guidance concept. Fraunhofer IPT has acquired extensive expertise in mechanical and plant engineering, which it has used to design, build and commission numerous special machines. The machine architecture developed by Fraunhofer IPT enables it to design a production machine flexibly and quickly from various modules and to assemble it ready for use. The Korean project partners are contributing their expertise in the field of digitalization to the project: With the help of an AI, they are optimizing the process parameters of the R2R machine in real time.
Contract manufacturing on the rise: companies benefit from foundries
By saving resources and, in particular, reducing energy consumption, the DigiDryBatt project is helping companies to comply with new European environmental regulations, such as the EU battery passport, which will come into force in 2027 as a requirement for battery production. The project also supports the formation of so-called "smart foundries." The term originates from the semiconductor industry, but has also spread to other sectors. Foundries enable companies to concentrate on chip design without having to make the enormous investments required for their own production facilities. This creates highly specialized manufacturing companies that use the latest technologies and achieve economies of scale. This model is indispensable today, especially in microelectronics. Such a business model could also be transferred to battery production to enable companies to manufacture their own battery cells or stacks without having their own production facilities. This saves costs and makes production scalable.
Project Consortium
Project coordination: NANOINTECH Co., Ltd
Project partner
- Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI)
- Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
- COBOTSYS Co., Ltd.
- Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS
- Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT
Funding
Sponsor: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea (MOTIE)
Support program: Joint R&D Project of the Global Industrial Technology Cooperation Center (GITCC)
Funding code: P0028340
Project sponsor: Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT)