Cellforce finalizes the electrode coating production process

Cellforce Group, the joint venture between Porsche and Customcells, says it has successfully implemented the mass production process for its electrode coating over the past twelve months. In this process, Cellforce relied on close cooperation with the machine and plant manufacturer Dürr.

According to Cellforce, the battery joint venture will in future use a special process from Dürr that allows both sides of the electrode to be coated simultaneously. The obvious advantage over conventional processes, in which the anode and cathode material is applied successively to both sides of the support sheet, is of course the shorter processing time. However, Cellforce also claims that “accuracy and quality can be significantly increased” compared to the usual procedure.

A corresponding coating line is now in operation in Bietigheim-Bissingen. The partners worked together for several months at the factory site in Dürr to implement the process on a series production line – so it is no longer a small prototype. Cellforce had already ordered the equipment itself from Dürr before the final location decision was made.

“For us, it was important that Dürr, as a technology partner, could act quickly and make any adjustments directly,” says Markus Woland, Chief Operating Officer of the Cellforce Group. “That’s why we chose this proprietary approach from Cellforce, which has dramatically accelerated the development of our coating process and allows us to accumulate shared knowledge at an early stage. »

This coating technology does not historically come from Dürr itself, but was developed by Dürr’s US subsidiary, Megtec, which was acquired in 2018. “We have special technology that enables the Cellforce Group to manufacture premium high-performance cells – and to do so with a highly efficient and sustainable production process,” says Jochen Weyrauch, CEO of Dürr AG. “By working directly with the Cellforce group, we can optimally align the technology with their needs and thereby support them in the future development and production of high-performance, high-energy-density cells.”

However, the Bietigheim-Bissingen coating plant will move again: Cellforce is building its 500 MWh cell plant in the Reutlingen-Kirchentellinsfurt industrial park. Once completed, the production processes set up in Dürr must be resumed directly. The plant manufacturer will also provide equipment for exhaust air purification and recovery of over 99% of the solvents used for the cell plant.

cellforcegroup.com