»Implementation of Laser Drying Processes for Economical & Ecological Lithium Ion Bettery Production«

Project schedule

The work plan is divided into three work packages:

1. In the first work package, an adapted material is developed for laser-based processing. This material will be dried in initial trials on a continuous coating line and with a specially designed laser system, and validated on the basis of the drying results. These tests will be carried out at low belt speeds of up to 1 m/min.
2. In the second step, the developed material system and the laser drying module are transferred to a test line. Here, belt speeds of up to 10 m/min with a coating width of 300 mm can be realized. At this point, the process development and scaling of the laser drying takes place. In parallel, the coating process is being further developed and optimized to ensure consistent electrode quality even at high strip speeds. Since the amount of evaporated solvent also increases with increasing belt speed, a concept for extraction is being developed and prototypes created. The results of the experimental investigations will be combined in a correlation model.
3. In the third and final work package, the drying process will finally be scaled up to an industrial scale, at belt speeds of up to 30 m/min and a coating width of 500 mm. To ensure complete drying, a second laser module will be developed and implemented. A novel thermal camera for process monitoring allows precise and fast control of the laser drying process to ensure consistent drying quality. In the end, the results will be combined in the form of a demonstrator. 

Utilization of results

The prospects for success on the part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in the IDEEL joint project are, on the one hand, the economic exploitation possibilities of the research results achieved. On the one hand, this applies to the German mechanical engineering sector and associated industries, through newly emerging cooperations and industrial orders. On the other hand, there are opportunities for scientific exploitation of the findings in the form of lectures, publications and patents.

Due to the increasing growth and demands on battery cell production, the need for processing technologies and process know-how is expected to increase further in the coming years. With the development of new plant technologies and the establishment of the FFB in Münster and the ILT in Aachen, further projects can be acquired and the development of laser-based processes in battery production can be advanced.

Battery production in Germany is becoming increasingly relevant, and both publicly funded and industrial projects will be considered. In the course of the project, an in-depth understanding of physical processes of laser-based drying will be established and published. Furthermore, this understanding can be transferred to other technology fields such as drying in the paper printing industry, laser joining of thermoplastics and heat treatment of steels. This opens up a wide range of scientific connection possibilities for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.