DiBatma-pro | Digitalisation in battery material and battery cell production

As part of the »DiBatma-pro« research project, a pilot line for polymer solid-state batteries will be set up in Augsburg  to meet the challenges above. The aim is to demonstrate that the development times for battery materials and new cell technologies can be significantly reduced with the help of automated processes and a comprehensive digital infrastructure. By digitally mapping the pilot line, the process steps can be virtually planned in advance and quickly adapted to new findings.

Solid electrolytes can overcome some of the limitations of current lithium-ion battery technology and improve battery performance parameters. In particular, higher energy densities can be achieved, while at the same time, the elimination of liquid electrolytes leads to lower production costs and increased cell safety. The production of polymer-based solid electrolytes has the advantage over oxide- and sulphide-based approaches of better processability and scalability as well as fewer deviations from the processes of conventional lithium-ion battery production, which facilitates the industrialisation of the technology.

Production processes can be scaled in a resource-saving way with the help of digital methods. In the context of battery cell production, the networking of data from material synthesis and production facilities to cell test results and cell analyses enables monitoring of the entire process chain and rapid identification of potential for improvement.

The primary unique selling point of the overall project is the presentation of a fully digitalised and partially automated process chain for the production of solid-state batteries, including the development of a common data infrastructure for the generation and use of process data.  For the realisation of the work objectives, considering the entire process chain is important, which extends from the mixing of the starting materials to the coating and calendering to the cell assembly and the subsequent cell forming.

Polymer solid-state batteries contain substances in their composition that are reactive to air and moisture or have a low flash point. This results in special requirements for the process atmosphere. To enable this technology, the plants were realised within innovative mini-environment concepts within the framework of the project in close cooperation with the plant manufacturers. Compared to processing in dry rooms, this solution offers greater flexibility about the process atmosphere and a significant cost and resource advantage, as less energy is required to maintain the conditioned process atmosphere due to the smaller process volumes.

The dosing and mixing of the starting materials can be carried out in a mixing laboratory both under ambient air and under inert gas conditions. Subsequently, the electrode and electrolyte pastes produced are processed in the coating and calendering systems, whereby ambient air, inert gas and dry air can be selected as the process atmosphere in the mini-environments. In this way, a resource-saving processing of different electrode compositions is possible, which cannot be processed in conventional battery production plants for technical, quality, and safety reasons. The spectrum of possible material systems is thus considerably expanded and paves the way to innovative cell chemistries and more powerful batteries.

As a scientific institute, the Fraunhofer IGCV expects new impulses for application-oriented research in the field of production technology for polymer solid-state batteries from the results obtained within the framework of »DiBatma-pro«.

The pilot line is currently being procured and will go into research operation by 2024 at the latest. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy and the European Union fund the investments.