As a result of the increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIB), production capacities in Germany and around the world will be greatly expanded over the next few years. In order to reduce the CO2 emissions of a lithium-ion battery over its entire life cycle, the current high energy requirements of battery cell production must be reduced. Accordingly, future production technologies must be planned and operated with the aim of increasing energy efficiency. Accordingly, there is a need for quality-oriented and energy-reduced system technology for LIB and NextGen production in mini-environments.
In the “QueEn” project, a modular and transferable mini-environment construction kit is being developed and implemented for adaptation to the entire battery cell value chain. Taking into account the transfer interfaces between different steps in the value chain, the aim is to provide evidence of the function itself and the efficient and effective use of mini-environments. To this end, a mini-environment cluster concept will be developed and demonstrated using the example of two critical process steps in the assembly of LIB cells, which will serve to identify and solve industrial challenges.
In the first step, the focus was placed on the design of the shell, the integration of process innovation and the realization of a modular structure.