Keeping an eye on economical battery cell production

06/29/2023

Source: energy & management powernews

The use of so-called mini- and macro-environments can reduce energy and operating costs in battery cell production, as a white paper from Fraunhofer points out.

The transition to sustainable mobility requires high-performance battery cells. However, in order for these to be manufactured more sustainably and economically in the long term, additional savings potential and efficiency strategies are required in the manufacturing process, without disregarding the standards of manufacturing environments.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Research Fabrication Battery Cell FFB facility are now highlighting ways in which energy and operating costs can be reduced in battery cell manufacturing. The goal is to create a high potential for competitive battery production in Germany and Europe. The researchers have summarized their findings in the newly published white paper "Energy-efficient and quality-oriented plant concepts for battery cell production".

According to Fraunhofer, up to 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany result from the electricity required for battery cell production. Of this, up to 43 percent of the energy demand is attributable to the manufacturing environment and the operation of clean and dry rooms. The white paper describes how economic and environmental savings potential can be achieved in battery cell production in the future with the help of various innovative environment concepts. The practical implementation of the concept at Fraunhofer FFB is also highlighted.

The researchers cite the lithium-ion battery (LIB) as the "most advanced variant" in its range of applications: stationary energy storage systems, consumer electronics, but above all the electrification of mobility take up the majority of the expected total demand. Annually, the demand for LIB increases in the gigawatt-hour range. The smooth, high-quality and safe production of battery cells place high demands on cleanliness and dryness, Fraunhofer notes.

Process- and machine-related enclosure concepts

Currently, these requirements would be met by clean and dry rooms - hermetically sealed rooms that have a dry room climate. They have very low humidity at a dew point of minus 60 degrees, the temperature at which humidity condensation begins. However, this requires enormous amounts of energy to process the very dry air. This is where Fraunhofer research comes in: The scientists are developing process- and machine-related enclosure concepts in production that will replace energy-intensive clean and dry rooms in the future.

They distinguish between the two concepts of "mini-environments" and "macro-environments." The former, as the researchers explain, are limited, segregated manufacturing and transportation units that encapsulate the value-added process as well as the product. The use of mini-environments has so far been limited to laboratory scale. Macro-environments, on the other hand, connect limited, segregated manufacturing areas that include operations, logistics, and machines and manufacturing units.

Optimizing the entire flow of the process environment

Marius Heller, research associate at Fraunhofer FFB explains, "Using mini-environments in battery cell manufacturing can improve crucial parameters. These include significantly lower operating and energy costs and the protection of employees from potentially harmful hazardous substances." The encapsulation would allow targeted air flows to be implemented and high product quality to be achieved. Overall, he said, the entire process environment sequence is optimized.

Heller is certain: "For the industry in the future, a switch to environment plant concepts can bring about a turnaround to ecological and economical cell production in Europe." The researchers expect the breakthrough for mini-environments from pilot scale to series scale from 2027.

The white paper "Energy-efficient and quality-oriented plant concepts for battery cell production" can be downloaded from the website of the Fraunhofer FFB facility.

Author: Davina Spohn