Dr. Katja Fröhlich
AIT | Austrian Institute of Technology
WP1 Coordinator
WP1 aims to ensure that the BatWoMan project reaches its objectives within the foreseen timeframe and budget, manage and monitor project resources, perform quality control, risk management and reporting. Furthermore, it enables regular communication within the project consortium and with the European Commission. AIT is the Project Coordinator and Manager, and chair of the General Assembly.
Work package 2 about sustainability and digitalization aims to provide inputs to the production design work conducted in work packages 3, 4, 5 and 6, so that these work packages can deliver technological solutions that meet the ambitious environmental, social and economic targets of the BatWoMan project. The main vehicle for this aim will be an idea generation workshop focussing on environmental improvement at month 12 of the project.
Supported by, among other, a literature study, a screening LCA and a mapping of sustainable sources of raw materials, the workshop will bring increased knowledge, awareness and engagement for the sustainability work throughout the project. Recycling, of production scrap as well as end-of-life battery cells, will receive special attention including physical experiments. In a separate task, a battery data space will be created to meet the coming passport regulations as well as support the digital twin developed in work package 3. A regular full ISO-compliant LCA will be carried out at the end of the project, which will require close cooperation with work packages 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Dr. Mats Zackrisson
RISE | Research Institutes of Sweden
WP2 Coordinator
Prof. Dr. Harry Hoster
University of Duisburg-Essen
WP3 Coordinator
- – „Smart re-tooling“ will be achieved by developing machine-learning-based navigation in the multidimensional space of manufacturing parameters.
- – The time-consuming yet mission-critical formation protocol will be optimized by pairing machine learning with electrochemistry.
- – The 3-D patterning of electrodes and separator will be optimized for faster drying/filling through experimentally validated fluid dynamics modeling.
- – The project will enable the nexus of cell design/manufacturing to consider trade-offs between efficient manufacturing, cell performance/durability, and environmental/societal impact.
The focus of WP4 is the production of Li-ion battery electrodes using sustainable manufacturing techniques with reduced energy consumption, low carbon footprint and no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). An environmentally friendly water-based slurry preparation and coating process will be developed with the challenging aim to reduce the solvent quantity. This will be supported by a novel one-step calendaring-drying process and machine concept development and accompanied by laser structuring of current collectors and electrodes. WP4 has three specific objectives. The first goal is to prepare water-based slurries for graphite anode and NMC cathode electrodes with a reduction of about 50 % of solvent quantity compared to the state-of-the-art. The electrode formulations will also be optimized to maintain mechanical integrity and electrochemical performances at high loadings (> 4 mAh/cm2) for EV applications. Concerning the novel one-step calendaring-drying process, a decrease of the drying time by > 75% is expected, reducing the overall CO2 footprint in cell production and infrastructure and production costs. The ultimate goal of the laser-structuring of current collector and electrode foils is to reduce the quantity of electrolyte by 30% as well as further improved adhesive strength. After the project end, sustainable water-based, solvent-reduced and high-loaded electrode processing and conditioning or structuring could enter the market to be produced at GWh scale.
Dr. Iratxe de Meatza
CIDETEC
WP4 Coordinator
Bernd Eschelmüller
AIT | Austrian Institute of Technology
WP5 Coordinator
In this work package, we develop innovative, sustainable, and cost-efficient cell assembly processes while reducing the dry room needs to an absolute minimum. This is realized via 3D patterned electrodes and separator to improve wettability while increasing lifetime and high current capability. A new concept of stack drying and filling will be implemented taking advantage of energy-efficient drying technologies. The derived cells will be further formed and aged with an optimized protocol and the electrochemical results will be compared with conventionally manufactured cells.
In WP6 the benefits of cell manufacturing from the new and environmentally sustainable technologies developed within the BatWoMan project will be evaluated and drafted from an industrial point of view.
- The research will address three main aspects of the cell manufacturing process:
- Reduction of the dry room requirements. The initial phases of the cell assembly process will be carried out outside the dry room environment, investigating two possible scenarios: one with the drying system installed outside the dry room, and only the filling/sealing cycle inside the dry room; and a second scenario in which drying takes place in a dry room in line with filling.
- Cost analysis: the manufacturing cost and the energy demand of the cell finishing process will be estimated and analysed, to assess the savings coming from the new formation procedure developed in WP5.
- Scalability and industrialization: development of the upscale manufacturable processing of the cell with the proposed eco-friendly technology.
Susanna Beltrame
SOVEMA
WP6 Coordinator
Dr. Wilhelm Pfleging
KIT | Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
WP7 Coordinator
The objective of WP7 is to execute a comprehensive strategy for disseminating the project’s results to the scientific community, communicate them to the general public and to set the framework for an effective exploitation of the results during and after the project, encompassing IPR management and valorisation. The goal is to inform the wider public about progress in battery manufacturing and the business opportunities related to that topic. Batteries’ sustainability and environmental impacts gained importance in the public debate accompanying the recent political decision to phase out combustion engines in favour of electric vehicles. That (often critically biased) interest can be harnessed in favour of a better awareness about the status-quo and the progress made by our consortium. Companies, including those who are not yet involved in the battery manufacturing supply chain, might learn about opportunities they are not yet aware of.