Volkswagen has announced it will commence dry coating active battery materials at its factory in Salzgitter, Germany by 2027. Prior research by others suggests this method should improve battery performance, and reduce production costs. Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo has been conducting extensive tests, and has given the process the thumbs up. We provide an overview of the procedure here to explain the principles.
How the Traditional Wet Coating Method Works
Clean Technica explains how a conventional lithium-ion battery electrode typically comprises a metal foil with a thin coating. This thin coating contains the active components enabling battery energy storage. Much effort goes into making sure that this thin coating is correctly applied:
- The raw coating is a semi-liquid paste comprising the active materials together with a solvent.
- Manufacturing begins with spreading wet paste on the metal foil which is typically copper.
- Drying the solvent requires a long, slow production line allowing time for it to evaporate.
- Replacing this method with a dry coating procedure eliminates this inefficient process.
More Advantages to Dry Coating Active Battery Materials
Dry coating active battery materials is not exclusive to Volkswagen. Hundreds of companies and laboratories have been chasing after this ‘holy grail’ of next-gen lithium batteries. U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, for example, has been searching high and low for technologies to reduce costs while improving performance.
The Volkswagen process stands out from the pack, because it holds promise to skim several $100 dollars off the price of its electric vehicles. Clean Technica says VW’s particular method adapts well to mass production, while slashing energy consumption by 30%.
Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo has invested $40 million into the research phase since 2020. The first factory as mentioned will be in Salzgitter, although plans are already in place to build a mega battery factory in Canada. Tesla is also working on dry coating active battery materials, but apparently still has unresolved problems on the cathode side.
More Information
Toyota Solid State Batteries Could Invigorate
