Implementation of an Agile Manufacturing System for the Lithium-Ion-Cell-Production based on Individual Microenvironments

A steadily growing demand as well as changing requirements lead to a strong diversification of the current market for lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells. There are a large number of new cell chemistries for which the transition from laboratory scale to industrial production must be achieved as quickly as possible. In addition, new processes and production procedures are constantly being developed with the aim of increasing factory throughput or reducing energy consumption for example. Finally, different market segments, such as the marine or aviation industry benefit from specialized cell geometries, which are not required in mass quantities, as it is the case with available cells to date. This paper takes up the challenges outlined above and answers the question of how a production system must be designed to deal with them in the best possible way. As a result, the implementation of an agile production system for battery cells is presented. The system is designed to enable the manufacturing of small numbers of cells or components with industrial precision by using reconfigurable and adaptable production environments, so-called microenvironments. These can be individually climate controlled, so that required dewpoints of -50°C can be achieved for the different production steps. As a result, a highly modular and flexible system has been developed, both with regards to the cell chemistry to be produced and the geometric dimensions of the cells to be manufactured. The microenvironments presented in this approach allow for a faster and more energy efficient dehumidification of the required production space compared to conventional dry-room setups. Effects of different setpoints and human interaction on the energy consumption of the system, as well as the time necessary for climatic changes will be evaluated within this article.