Battery Cell Production Producing Battery Cells With 50 Percent Less Energy

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Dürr and Grob present a new concept factory for lithium-ion battery cells at "The Battery Show Europe," which requires less space and energy, but offers higher performance and quality.

Since 2022, the two global companies Dürr and Grob have been cooperating in the area of production technology for lithium-ion batteries. The goal is to jointly establish themselves as system providers of battery production plants in Europe and North America.

With our expanded portfolio of highly available machines and systems, we together cover almost the entire value chain for battery cell production with our own technologies.

German Wankmiller, CEO of Grob-Group

In addition to a classic production layout with wet coating, the partners have developed a concept factory with dry coating and the new Z-folder technology:

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Our concept factory, and particularly the dry coating, represent the next generation of battery cell production. Thanks to powerful and innovative technologies, the production requires 50 percent less space and energy. This means significantly higher space efficiency and lower operating costs for our customers.

Dr. Jochen Weyrauch, CEO at Dürr AG

Efficient and Sustainable Dry Coating

Instead of conventional slurry, the Activated Dry Electrode process uses a dry mixed active material. This powder mixture is pressed into a free-standing film with calendering machines, which is then laminated on both sides of the collector foil. Compared to wet coating, this eliminates the drying process as well as the recovery and treatment of solvents. This saves space, energy, and costs. The free-standing film also has advantages in terms of material efficiency, as excess film material can be fully returned to the production process before laminating onto the collector foil. After calendering, the area weight can be measured directly, allowing for better control of coating thickness. During the subsequent lamination onto the collector foil, less force is required than in the calendering of the wet coating process, resulting in no deformation of the foil, which improves processability for subsequent notching and stacking.

High-Speed Cell Assembly

With the new generation of the Z-Falter, which integrates the notching process, Grob achieves higher performance with reduced space requirements. For particularly stable and reliable plant technology, the separator is guided with very uniform and low web tension over a few deflection rollers. Through high-quality electrode magazine technology, the system achieves an availability of 95 percent.

Precise High-Pressure Electrolyte Filling

With a process developed by Dürr, battery cells can be filled in just one step without residual gas. Unlike the conventional process, the electrolyte is filled directly into the cells with up to 30 bar. This filling pressure is two to three times above the current industry standard. The process design allows for precise dosing and shortens the filling process as well as the subsequent penetration of the electrolyte into the active material.

Consistent Digitalization

The plant technology from Dürr and Grob is complemented by a continuous digital representation of the production process. Already in the planning phase prior to production start, a digital twin allows the simulation of the entire factory, accelerating on-site implementation. The data from the simulation is integrated into the MES/MOM software of Dürr's subsidiary iTAC, enabling the control and planning of all production steps in battery manufacturing. Important functions include traceability and quality analysis to avoid errors in production. This results in production with high overall equipment effectiveness.

Innovations in Wet Coating

In the conventional wet coating process, Dürr has further optimized its technologies in terms of performance and energy efficiency. One example is the automation of the coater and slot dies, which form a closed control loop for layer thickness, leading to a faster production start-up and reduced waste. In the subsequent drying process, battery manufacturers can achieve a 50 percent faster web speed with laser dryers and dry in an especially energy-efficient manner. After drying, the electrode coating is compacted with calendering machines. The machines from Dürr's subsidiary Ingecal work particularly precisely with "Dynamic Gap Control": two sensors measure the gap between the two rolls to an accuracy of 0.5 micrometers. This results in a very uniform layer thickness, applying no more than the needed force. Dürr Ingecal calenders are used for compacting the film in both wet and dry coating.

At The Battery Show Europe 2025 from June 3 to 5, Dürr and Grob showcased their concept factory as a physical 3D model, along with other technologies in battery manufacturing.

Dürr was presenting with a new naming concept for the first time. Dürr combined the products for electrode coating and electrolyte filling under the name "X.Cellify."

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