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"Battery Innovation Hub" in Neuchâtel CSEM With New Drying Room for Battery Innovations

Source: Press release | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

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CSEM's new dry room strengthens the Swiss battery innovation ecosystem by expanding access to state-of-the-art development conditions. It complements the expertise already built up by leading industry players and promotes more intensive collaboration between research and industry.

The new infrastructure allows the processing of extremely moisture-sensitive materials such as lithium metal, which are essential for future batteries with higher energy density, improved safety and lower costs. Pictured: Cutting test on lithium metal batteries.(Image: CSEM)
The new infrastructure allows the processing of extremely moisture-sensitive materials such as lithium metal, which are essential for future batteries with higher energy density, improved safety and lower costs. Pictured: Cutting test on lithium metal batteries.
(Image: CSEM)

Batteries are a cornerstone of the energy transition and a strategic industrial technology worldwide. The Swiss Technology Innovation Center CSEM has opened a dry room in its "Battery Innovation Hub" in Neuchâtel, which it is now making available to industry. In the dry room environment, companies, start-ups and SMEs can develop next-generation battery cells under industrial conditions. These opportunities are becoming increasingly important, as innovation, competitiveness and value creation depend on mastering the battery cell itself. Access to this type of infrastructure is still concentrated abroad and in a few large industrial companies.

A Key Requirement for Next-Generation Batteries

Advanced battery technologies are increasingly based on materials that are extremely sensitive to moisture, including lithium metal. CSEM's drying room is operated at a dew point of around 122 °F or below, so that these materials can be processed under conditions that meet industrial production requirements.

The drying room covers around 400 square feet and is equipped with a pilot line for assembling pouch cells up to 5 Ah, a cell format widely used in smartphones and electric vehicles. This allows new cell concepts to be transferred from laboratory research to industrially relevant formats.

"Batteries are becoming a mainstay of the energy system of the future," says Andrea Ingenito, Co-Leader CSEM "Battery Innovation Hub". "Whoever masters their production will control a central part of the energy transition. With this dry room, we can develop new materials and cell concepts and demonstrate their industrial feasibility."

Why Innovation at Cell Level is Crucial

Modern electric vehicles contain thousands of individual battery cells, whereas only a few are used in consumer electronics. Improvements at cell level therefore have a direct impact on the range, costs and safety of entire energy systems.

Battery technologies are also becoming a key factor for industrial competitiveness. Batteries already account for around 30 to 40 percent of the cost of an electric vehicle, and their importance is increasing in the areas of mobility, stationary energy storage and industrial applications.

"The next generation of batteries will not only determine how far electric vehicles can travel, but also how efficiently we can store renewable energy and how competitive Switzerland and Europe are in this area," explains Andreas Hutter, Co-Leader CSEM "Battery Innovation Hub".

Strengthening Switzerland in the Global Race for Batteries

Open access is of strategic importance for Switzerland. Battery cells are a core element of the energy transition and industrial value creation, but the corresponding infrastructures are still highly concentrated internationally. Image: Solid state of a lithium metal battery.(Image: CSEM)
Open access is of strategic importance for Switzerland. Battery cells are a core element of the energy transition and industrial value creation, but the corresponding infrastructures are still highly concentrated internationally. Image: Solid state of a lithium metal battery.
(Image: CSEM)

The production of battery cells is highly concentrated worldwide: The majority of production takes place in Asia, while Europe is investing massively in new industrial capacities. In this context, access to a modern development infrastructure is strategically crucial.

By opening up the dry room to industry, start-ups and SMEs, CSEM is helping to close a critical gap in Switzerland's innovation landscape. Companies gain access to a state-of-the-art development infrastructure that is otherwise mainly available abroad or within large industrial groups.

With the "Battery Innovation Hub" and the now operational drying room, CSEM is helping to strengthen Switzerland's position in the international competition for future battery technologies and accelerate the transfer of innovation from applied research to industrial application.

Continuation of Regional Support

The CSEM "Battery Innovation Hub" will continue to receive strong regional support in the future. Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise (BCN) has renewed its support for the next two years, reaffirming its commitment to innovation and industrial development in the region.

Pierre-Alain Leuenberger, CEO of BCN, sums it up: "The CSEM 'Battery Innovation Hub' is an impressive example of how research, industry and regional players can work together to create long-term, sustainable value. BCN is proud to continue to support CSEM in developing cleantech and providing Swiss companies with the tools they need to innovate, contribute to the energy transition and remain competitive in a fast-moving global environment."

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