Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB New white paper published
Experts Develop Criteria for Successful Gigafactory Ramp-up
The ramp-up phase of a gigafactory for the production of battery cells, modules and packs for electromobility and other applications is crucial to its subsequent success. In the jointly published white paper “Mastering Ramp-up of Battery Production”, Fraunhofer FFB and the Chair of “Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components« (PEM) at the RWTH Aachen University provide information on strategies and resources for an efficient and successful ramp-up of a gigafactory.
Münster/Aachen. Global battery demand for the year of 2030 is currently estimated at 2,500 to 3,500 gigawatt-hours. Europe, Germany, Hungary, and France are currently among the most important production locations where factories on a gigawatt-hour scale are being created to manufacture battery cells in order to meet the increasing demand and ensure the competitiveness of the European industry. “Despite extensive investment in recent years, the volume of battery cells produced is still well below expectations,” says Professor Achim Kampker, managing director at the Fraunhofer FFB.
The reason: “Product and process uncertainties often lead to delays in the start of production for cell manufacturers, and there is a lack of skilled workers who can handle the complexity of battery cell production.” The white paper therefore first outlines the organizational and technical hurdles associated with the ramp-up of a gigafactory and then offers insights into how they can be overcome and how the ramp-up process can be managed effectively.
Ramp-up phase as a risk for e-mobility as a whole
According to the publication, scrap rates of 15 to 30 percent in the first few years are common in battery cell production. Even after five years, the reject rates are still high at around ten percent. Each percentage point costs around 30.000 € per day and around ten million euros per year. A reject rate of 30 percent at full capacity therefore means costs of around 900.000 € per day.
“It is a threat to the entire European electromobility sector if local battery cell manufacturers are unable to increase their production capacities due to problems with factory ramp-up,” Kampker says. ”If these hurdles are not overcome, the loss of profits will increase.”
Research knowledge and digitalization as a foundation
According to the white paper, a systematic investigation of the causes makes it possible to identify and overcome essential challenges at product and production level in good time. According to the authors, the successful ramp-up of a gigafactory for battery cell production is based on several pillars. In addition to support from experienced specialist researchers, the use of suitable knowledge databases is considered crucial. In the case of Fraunhofer FFB and PEM, these were created through several years of project work with partners from the battery industry – resulting in a wide range of expertise on production technologies, cause-and-effect relationships, costs, and energy consumption as well as optimum production parameters, system manufacturers, and market data. In addition, the development of digitalization solutions enabling faster factory implementation and reliable detection of errors in production is crucial. In particular, digital quality assurance and traceability are able to reduce reject rates at an early stage and thus significantly reduce costs.
Real case studies, data analyses and best practices
According to the publication, it is also helpful to make use of the best possible infrastructure with state-of-the-art plant technology and production lines, as has been created with the construction of the “FFB PreFab” and will continue to be created with the future “FFB Fab” within the Battery Cell Production Research project, providing valuable insights into the efficient running of ramp-up processes. The joint white paper by researchers from Fraunhofer FFB and PEM of RWTH Aachen University is based on real-life case studies, data analyses, and best practices. In the publication and beyond, Fraunhofer FFB and PEM provide their industry knowledge as well as databases, digitalization solutions, and infrastructure to support battery manufacturers in managing their factory ramp-up.
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