SprayCoat

"With all vehicles becoming electrified in some way by 2040, and considerable change occurring across all social, environmental and economic domains for energy storage and management, there is an ever-increasing resultant demand requiring Li-ion and other battery chemistries and technologies. To answer this critical need, we must to ensure the creation of effective production processes for battery manufacture, and a connected supply chain to support the future for the UK in this sector.

This project seeks to generate a feasibility study and prototype demonstrator of a new technology in electrode coating process, which is a critical part of the manufacturing process of a battery and has the potential to dramatically improve cost efficiencies, and assist the adoption of the electrification. This novel technology will lead to significant efficiencies overall in the manufacturing lifecycle and consequently the value chain. It will assist to reduce cost, improve performance together with battery understanding, and reduce wastage of both valuable raw materials and scrap.

Electrodes form part of the battery cell and it is essential to ensure that these electrodes are uniformly and consistently coated with material, as this considerably affects productivity yields and performance, and also dramatically affects cost. This project will look at how to create a hardware platform that will digitally print electrodes more accurately, using suitable material formulations, and with greater speed, which will develop advanced and cost effective manufacturing techniques, and bring battery manufacture increasingly in line with digital industry advances. This will ultimately assist to advance the UK's competitive position in battery cell technologies and production, and importantly, the transition to a low-carbon economy."