Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing with Novel Multi-Material 3D Printer - BattMan 3D

In BattMan3D we will develop innovative new industrial 3D printers for the manufacture of battery cells designed for electric vehicles. By improving manufacturing techniques, we will support the UK in establishing world-leading capabilities in state-of-the-art battery production. Our industry-specific formulations and printers will be designed to produce electrodes with complex geometries, with improved energy density. Our process will print entire battery cells, from anode through electrolyte to cathode, including the casing. We will demonstrate the technology during the project using typical lithium-ion battery cell chemistry, but our printers will be designed to be ready for future battery technologies, with capabilities to print a range of cathode and anode materials as well as solid-state electrolytes.

By the end of the project we will have developed:

* A 3D printer for battery cell components, suitable for commercialisation at a retail price below £250k
* Printable formulations, utilising functionalised nanoparticles, to produce cell electrodes and separators
* Demonstrator battery pack, validated and benchmarked against conventionally produced batteries

This will have significant benefits for the battery industry:

* Replacement of a 4-step process (coating, drying, calendaring, notching) with simple deposition and cure, thus reducing the fabrication time by a factor of 10
* Reduction of production costs for a 40kWh auto battery by more than £1255
* Removal of environmentally damaging N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) solvents from cell production process
* Up to 85% reduction in waste management expense

In this way we will improve vertical integration in the cell manufacture process, improving UK capabilities and resilience of supply. We will also remove high-energy processes and high-risk materials from the manufacturing chain, while benefiting from the cleaner energy mix of the UK grid to improve the overall environmental footprint of automotive battery manufacture.