Battery Manufacturing Day Producing Batteries in Germany—How It Can Succeed

Efficient battery production is essential for the success of e-mobility. At the Battery Manufacturing Day, around 120 participants discussed how this could be achieved in practice. At the end of November, the event in Karlsruhe focused on battery cell and module production in Germany.

"Electromobility is on a bumpy road," said Thorsten Reichling from consulting firm P3 in his presentation "Challenges in Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturing" at the 1st Battery Manufacturing Day. As is well known, the sales of electric vehicles are currently subdued. Hermann Uchtner from Schuler Pressen had a more optimistic view—he referred to the indestructible "Gartner Hype Cycle."
 According to this, dents in technological development after a peak of inflated expectations are not unusual. Typically, a stable productivity plateau follows. It is important to prepare for this because "we are making decisions today for the demands of the next ten years."

 A key to affordable electromobility is battery production. Europe is facing significant challenges in this area. There are several reasons for this, such as the heavy dependence on battery raw materials from China, but also higher regulatory hurdles in the European development environment. So, what can Europe and Germany do to compete with the currently dominant China in battery production? 

Chinese plant manufacturers are getting involved

Hermann Uchtmann from plant manufacturer Schuler Pressen described an interesting phenomenon: The market for battery production plants in China is currently stagnating, which is driving Chinese suppliers to Europe in order to realize their growth there.

 However, European plant manufacturers still have the advantage that they are better equipped to meet the extremely high specifications expected in Europe. Nevertheless, operating costs (OPEX) and investment costs (CAPEX) have moved to the forefront as crucial factors for remaining competitive.

 There is no shortage of research and practical solutions, as demonstrated the day before with a tour of the "Karlsruhe Research Factory for AI-Integrated Production." The research factory, involving Fraunhofer IOSB and ICT and the wbk Institute for Production Engineering at KIT, is developing concepts for battery production and recycling, among other things.

 A fundamental approach is to find agile and adaptable production concepts to quickly make "immature" processes ready for mass production. AI and the data ecosystem Catena-X also play a central role in these developments.

Agile processes in battery production

Katharina Zipse from CatX Service GmbH spoke about this topic. She described Catena-X as an open collaborative data space for the automotive industry that optimizes business processes along the entire value chain. According to Zipse, the European project—which is part of the larger Gaia-X initiative—enables the industry to reduce costs by about 20 percent.

 Robert Vollmer from Schuler Group and Bernd Kremer from German Edge Cloud reported on data-driven processes in battery production. Schuler combines two software products: The GEC Onsite Digital Production System from German Edge Cloud includes data collection in the cloud and edge computing, which processes the data.

Edge computing refers to data processing that occurs "on the edge" of the cloud, capturing data to process it outside of the central cloud server. This is intended to make data processing more agile, targeted, and flexible.

The second element is the Track-and-Trace function of the Metris software from plant manufacturer Andritz. A key goal is to reduce scrap in the production of battery cells.

Minimizing scrap is an important cost factor in competing with Chinese suppliers. Hermann Uchtmann from Schuler sees potential in this area— provided European battery manufacturers are better able to consider OPEX and CAPEX within the Total Cost of Ownership when acquiring production equipment.

Lower Costs Through Battery Recycling

In addition to efficient processes, material costs play a crucial role. In the medium term, these costs can indirectly decrease through optimized recycling and, in the long run, a circular economy that minimizes the need for new materials. The Karlsruhe Research Factory is conducting research in this area, and industry players are also exploring new solutions.

 Max Rettenmaier from the machinery manufacturer Trumpf, for example, presented a development project where batteries are cut open with lasers before recycling. Thanks to the remarkable speed, the heat input is surprisingly low, ensuring that the inner cells are not endangered. Equally intriguing is a new method for removing active material from anodes and cathodes using lasers. Trumpf is working to make such processes ready for series production.Omron, a provider of automation solutions for battery production with over 20 years of experience, is now increasingly focusing on recycling. According to Henry Claussnitzer, who discussed battery disassembly concepts, recycling is by no means just a reversal of the production process. He mentioned, for instance, the trend toward cell-to-car integration, which is an exciting development from a design perspective but presents challenges when it comes to removing used cells from vehicles. Traditional battery modules make this process significantly simpler.

 Moreover, the internal condition of a used battery is often unknown. Over its lifetime, parts of the electrolyte might disappear, and materials can change. There is currently no “battery passport” to provide insight into the state of the battery. Is it suitable for another life in a stationary application? This remains an open question.

Back to the Start of the Battery Lifecycle

Nicole Neub from Exyte Technology GmbH discussed the "encapsulation" of processes using "energy-efficient micro-environments for battery production." Using the example of manufacturing Li-ion cells, she explained that sometimes the product must be protected from humans.

 Specifically, cell production requires an extremely dry environment, but humans naturally produce significant moisture simply through breathing. The solution lies in a mini-environment—small, encapsulated spaces designed to minimize the energy required to maintain dryness.

Collaborating to Develop and Manufacture Batteries

What were the key takeaways from the Battery Manufacturing Day? It’s clear that strong collaboration between industry and research will be essential for Europe to produce batteries competitively.

Equally important are initiatives like the Karlsruhe Research Factory and process-accompanying solutions such as Catena-X. Battery recycling will play a pivotal role in this effort.It may also be necessary to rethink manufacturing processes to better accommodate efficient recycling from the outset. Battery production is still a relatively young field, constantly evolving.