In order to develop cell manufacturing you need a cell manufacturing strategy. This needs to be thought through from access to the raw materials, workforce development, long term financial support and ensuring you have ongoing research. This requires sustained leadership and direction.
The strategy for this from the European Battery Alliance (EBA) [2] clearly defines a list of what is required, this is being applied a large collection of countries, but could equally well be applied by a single company wanting to move into this space.
This post has been built based on the support and sponsorship of: AVANT Future Mobility, Quarto Technical Services, TAE Power Solutions, h.e.l group and The Limiting Factor.
The EBA was launched in 2017 by the European Commission, EU countries, industry, and the scientific community. This has laid out a clear plan for bringing battery manufacturing to EU countries and to support that plan in every aspect for the long term:
- secure access to raw materials from resource-rich countries outside the EU, facilitate access to European sources of raw materials, as well as accessing secondary raw materials through recycling in a circular economy of batteries
- support European battery cells manufacturing at scale and a full competitive value chain in Europe: bringing key industry players and national and regional authorities together; working in partnership with Member States and the European Investment Bank to support innovative manufacturing projects with a important cross-border and sustainability dimensions throughout the battery value chain
- strengthen industrial leadership through stepped-up EU research and innovation support to advanced (e.g. Lithium-ion) and disruptive (e.g. solid state) technologies in the batteries sector. This should target support in all the steps of the value chain (advanced materials, new chemistries, manufacturing processes, battery management systems, recyling, business model innovations), be closely integrated with the industrial ecosystem and contribute to accelerating the deployment and industrialisation of innovations
- develop and strengthen a highly skilled workforce in all parts of the battery value chain in order to close the skills gap through actions at EU and Member State level providing adequate training, re-skilling and upskilling, and making Europe an attractive location for world class experts in batteries development and production
- support the sustainability of EU battery cell manufacturing industry with the lowest environmental footprint possible, for example by using renewable energy in the production process. This objective should be notably implemented through setting out requirements for safe and sustainable batteries production
- ensure consistency with the broader enabling and regulatory framework (Clean Energy Strategy, Mobility Packages, EU Trade Policy, etc.) in support of batteries and storage deployment.
Developing a plan that closes the circle at the beginning will allow this to have a sustainable future.
References
- Sustainable Mobility for Europe: safe, connected and clean, Annex 2
- European Battery Alliance, EU
- Building a European battery industry, InnoEnergy
Cell Manufacturing Process
In order to engineer a battery pack it is important to understand the fundamental building blocks, including the battery cell manufacturing process. This will allow you to understand some of the limitations of the cells and differences between batches of cells. Or at least understand where these may arise.