AIT is researching climate-friendly batteries

AIT is researching climate-friendly batteries

Electric vehicles use energy much more efficiently than conventional vehicles with combustion engines and therefore play a crucial role in achieving climate goals. Nevertheless, the resource-saving, sustainable and climate-friendly production of battery cells still represents a major challenge. This is where the European research project “BatWoMan” (long title: “Carbon Neutral European Battery Cell Production with Sustainable, Innovative Processes and 3D Electrode Design to Manufacture”) led by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology comes into play: Together with six partners from research and industry, new and, above all, sustainable processes for battery cell production are being developed to help the European Union on its way to To support CO2 neutrality in the production of batteries.

AIT recently hosted a kick-off event at the Vienna-Giefingasse location. Together with representatives of the project partners cidetec (Spain), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Sovema (Italy), Matthews International GmbH and Research Institutes of Sweden, the AIT experts from the Center for Low-Emission Transport and the Center for Digital Safety & Security will be researching climate-friendly technologies for the production of battery cells over the next three years. The research work in the “BatWoMan” project focuses on the energy-efficient processing of electrodes, innovative electrolyte filling processes as well as cost- and energy-efficient cell conditioning. An artificial intelligence-based platform will digitally support these manufacturing strategies. In order to reflect the sustainability of the newly developed processes, AIT is creating a Battery Data Space on which all relevant cell construction processes are displayed, parameters such as raw material and energy use are stored and can be read out after the manufactured battery cell has been used, for example by recycling companies.

A particularly important topic that the AIT experts are addressing as part of “BatWoMan” concerns cell assembly. The focus here is on optimizing the electrolyte filling process using three-dimensional electrodes and drastically reducing the drying space requirement. Currently, many process steps in cell production take place under defined conditions, which leads to a high energy requirement and therefore, depending on the electricity mix and external influences, such as ambient temperature and humidity, to an increased carbon footprint. However, since the electrodes in “BatWoMan” are water-based with a high dry content, a considerable amount of energy can be saved. The energy-intensive drying process is also significantly shortened because the residual moisture content decreases. Katja Fröhllich, head of the “Sustainable and Smart Battery Manufacturing” research field in the “Battery Technologies” unit and “BatWoMan” project coordinator, explains: “Together, we would like to support European battery producers in the spirit of the Green Deal in realizing resource-saving, sustainable and climate-friendly production of battery cells.