Investing 888,000 euros! Germany develops new battery production technology

Introduction: In order to promote battery production in Europe, Landshut University of Applied Sciences and Technical University of Munich will develop new technologies in the new IntelliSpin research project to make battery production more flexible and cost-effective using electrospinning and artificial intelligence.

The IntelliSpin project is expected to last until December 31, 2023, and the German government has provided 888,000 euros in funding for the project. The research team said that the use of electrospinning technology makes previously non-laminated electrodes laminable, thereby increasing production flexibility.

During the lamination process, positive and negative electrodes are alternately stacked with separators in between, and then sealed with a film. Water-based electrode formulations are cheaper and more sustainable, but cannot be laminated with current technology. Therefore, the researchers wanted to use an extremely thin layer of a special polymer to produce laminated batteries with such electrodes.

"If we find a way to automate this technology and incorporate it into Industry 4.0 processes, this will greatly strengthen our ability to compete with large industrial plants," said Professor Pettinger of Landshut University of Applied Sciences. "Our ultimate goal is to achieve a fully networked production line. This enables battery manufacturers to reduce scrap rates and improve the quality and life of the batteries, making production more flexible."

Professor Pettinger explained that the process uses electrospinning to spin chemical materials into ultra-fine fibers with a diameter of only a few micrometers or nanometers. The polymer solution is attracted to the counter electrode and accelerated under the action of the electric field. In this process, the solvent evaporates to form nanofibers that are 1,000 times thinner than a hair and are deposited like wool.