Integration of laser structuring into the electrode manufacturing process chain for lithium-ion batteries

Hille, Lucas; Noecker, Marc P.; Ko, Byeongwang; Kriegler, Johannes; Keilhofer, Josef; Stock, Sandro; Zaeh, Michael F.

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2022.232478

Cited by 17 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Comparable to laser structuring, there are several integration options. [ 25 ] Integration is possible as a subprocess directly into an existing roll‐to‐roll process step of the electrode production such as coating or calendering (options A to D). Alternatively, the additional process can also be operated in a standalone system (options B to D).…”

Section: Concept Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical Structuring of Lithium‐Ion Battery Electrodes Using an Embossing Roller

et al. 2023

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Highly performing lithium‐ion batteries are essential for the electrification of the transport sector. However, the two performance criteria, high power density and high energy density, inversely correlate with each other via the mass loading of the electrodes. To achieve high charging and discharging rates at high energy densities, structuring of electrodes is a proven method. Currently, structures are mostly realized by laser ablation, which comes along with material loss and low process rates. Herein, a concept for electrode structuring through mechanical embossing in a high‐throughput roll‐to‐roll process is elaborated. Different integration options are described and the challenges are discussed. To provide a proof of concept, a hand‐operated embossing device is built and used to structure graphite anodes. In a rate capability test, an increase in discharge capacity at medium C‐rates by up to 14.3% is observed.

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Section: Concept Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical Structuring of Lithium‐Ion Battery Electrodes Using an Embossing Roller

et al. 2023

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“…9 Some processes, such as laser ablation, are compatible with existing roll-to-roll electrode manufacturing process, and thus compatible with high-throughput and minimal additional manufacturing cost. 10,11 Scaled battery electrode laser structuring has been demonstrated for large-format pouch cells (nominal capacity 2.9 Ah) in an industry-oriented pilot line for LIB production to assess its industrial feasibility. 12 Chen et al, also demonstrated this new manufacturing technique for industrially relevant cell format (>2 Ah pouch cells).…”

Section: Review Of Structured Electrode Channel Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing Fast Charging and Wetting in Lithium-Ion Batteries with Optimal Microstructure Patterns Identified by Genetic Algorithm

Usseglio-Viretta,

Weddle,

Tremolet de Villers

et al. 2023

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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To sustain the high-rate current required for fast charging electric vehicle batteries, electrodes must exhibit sufficiently high effective ionic diffusion. Additionally, to reduce battery manufacturing costs, wetting time must decrease. Both of these issues can be addressed by structuring the electrodes with mesoscale pore channels. However, their optimal spatial distribution, or patterns, is unknown. Herein, a genetic algorithm has been developed to identify these optimal patterns using a CPU-cheap proxy distance-based model to evaluate the impact of the added pore networks. Both coin-cell and pouch cell form factors have been considered for the wetting analysis, with their respective electrolyte infiltration mode. Regular hexagonal and mud-crack-like patterns, respectively, for fast charging and fast wetting were found to be optimal and have been compared with pre-determined, easier to manufacture, patterns. The model predicts that using cylindrical channels arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern is ∼6.25 times more efficient for fast charging as compared to grooved lines with both structuring strategies being restricted to a 5% electrode total volume loss. The model also shows that only a very limited electrode volume loss (1%–2%) is required to dramatically improve the wetting (5–20 times) compared to an unstructured electrode.

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“…Currently, laser structuring of battery electrodes is not applied in industrial battery production due to several challenges, such as its integration into the manufacturing process chain [10] and scaling issues [11]. Furthermore, process design is highly time-consuming because of non-linear interdependencies between the laser process parameters and the resulting hole geometries [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For optimized electrochemical performance, the introduced holes should exhibit low diameters and large depths resulting in high aspect ratios [14]. Their geometries are usually characterized using topographic microscopy methods for creating electrode surface images, such as confocal laser scanning microscopy (LSM) [10] or white light interferometry (WLI) [13]. Typically, the holes' diameters and depths are determined manually based on line or area profiles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since laser structuring is not yet implemented in industrial battery production lines [10], literature addressing the automated sensor data analysis for design and monitoring of the process is scarce. Nevertheless, approaches for the image analysis of sensors capturing a substrate's topography are known from other fields of production engineering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Automated geometry characterization of laser-structured battery electrodes

Hille

Hoffmann

Kriegler

et al. 2023

Prod. Eng. Res. Devel.

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Micro structuring of battery electrodes with pulsed laser radiation substantially increases the performance of lithium-ion batteries. For process design and monitoring, determining the resulting hole diameters and depths is essential. This study presents an automated, model-based approach for the geometry characterization of laser-drilled structures in battery electrodes. An iteratively re-weighted least squares algorithm is used for fitting of a reference plane to confocal laser scanning microscopy images of laser-structured electrodes. Using a threshold-based segregation of the generated weights, the holes are segmented from the pristine electrode surfaces. The results from the automated geometry determination were found to coincide well with manual measurements. By reducing the image resolution, the runtime of the code could be decreased, which yet lowered the accuracy of the hole depth prediction. In a sensitivity analysis, the algorithm performed stably under changes in the recording conditions, such as altered image brightness, frame rate, or vertical resolution. In conclusion, the presented method reduces the effort and increases the reproducibility for analyzing large experimental data sets in laser electrode structuring. Furthermore, the approach can be successfully transferred to other applications, which is demonstrated by indentations in battery current collector foils stemming from electrode calendering.

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Integration of laser structuring into the electrode manufacturing process chain for lithium-ion batteries

Cited by 17 publications

References 41 publications

Mechanical Structuring of Lithium‐Ion Battery Electrodes Using an Embossing Roller

Mechanical Structuring of Lithium‐Ion Battery Electrodes Using an Embossing Roller

Optimizing Fast Charging and Wetting in Lithium-Ion Batteries with Optimal Microstructure Patterns Identified by Genetic Algorithm

Automated geometry characterization of laser-structured battery electrodes

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