BatWoMan Podcast Episode 5: Wilhelm Pfleging

Theresa’s and Iratxe’s discussion focuses on the practicalities and complexities of advancing lithium-ion battery manufacturing towards more sustainable practices.
Iratxe provides a detailed overview of the project’s approach to reducing the use of solvents in electrode production. Key topics include:

Dry Processing Challenges: The technical hurdles in achieving proper mixing and flow of solid materials without the aid of traditional liquid solvents, and the trade-offs involved in terms of energy consumption.

Steps Toward Safer Alternatives: Efforts to replace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with water-based solutions as an interim step, reducing toxicity and environmental impact while maintaining process efficiency.

Long-Term Goals: The vision of completely solvent-free manufacturing processes and the incremental steps required to reach this ambitious target.

The conversation also touches on the broader implications of these developments, such as the potential for reducing environmental footprints in battery production and improving worker safety. Iratxe’s insights provide a grounded perspective on the real-world challenges and opportunities in transitioning to more sustainable manufacturing methods.

Katja and Theresa first talk about Katja’s background and how she discovered her passion for battery manufacturing. They then discuss upscaling and the aim of the BatWoMan project, which is to reduce emissions and production costs during the manufacturing of Li-ion batteries in order to support European battery cell manufacturing. The project includes various parts that tackle mostly the manufacturing of Li-ion batteries but also their lifetime. When speaking about the manufacturing steps that BatWoMan is trying to improve, Katja mentions highly viscuous electrode slurry, the replacement of NMP with water and the reduction dry room needs. Feel free to smurk when listening to how it took ages for Theresa to understand that the function of the dry room is not to dry something of water but just to keep things dry during production.

They talk about different battery chemistries of primary and secondary cells. Then Katja gives some insights into other research which is going on at AIT, including solid-state batteries. The conversation then centers back on the BatWoMan project and the specific steps during battery cell manufacturing that are tackled for emission and cost reduction, ranging from cheaper and less electrolyte to 3D-structured electrodes improving electrolyte filling. Last, the briefly touch the topic of a digital battery dataspace and passport as well as life cycle assessment but these are topics which Theresa will discuss in a lot more detail in the second episode when she talks to Mats Zackrisson.

mbly in Verona, Italy. Susanna shares her perspective as an industrial partner in the BatWoMan project and reflects on the intersection of industrial scale-up, sustainability, and collaborative innovation.

They explore:

How reducing dry room requirements can lower costs and environmental impact in battery manufacturing.

The importance of balancing process efficiency and investment sustainability, especially for new players in Europe’s battery landscape.

Why fostering strong partnerships and building a European battery ecosystem is key for long-term success.

Susanna also highlights the value of industry-research collaboration and stresses the importance of continuing this momentum beyond the project’s end.

For this third episode, Theresa was sitting down with Georgia Kastrinaki on a wonderful warm evening in a park in San Sebastian in Northern Spain. The two women travelled there for the third General Assembly meeting of the BatWoMan project. Georgia explains her work and her team’s contributions at CERTH (Center for Research and Technology Hellas) in Greece.

Georgia describes the technical process of creating battery electrodes, including challenges like managing volatile organic compounds and exploring water-based alternatives for a greener approach. She explains CERTH’s role in analyzing the microstructures of battery materials, which helps correlate structural features with performance and stability. Georgia also touches on her background and CERTH’s late entry into the project through the European “hop-on” program, which promotes collaboration with widening countries.