US-based lithium-ion battery maker AM Batteries has launched a tool for battery makers to calculate savings made from adopting its dry electrode coating process.
Its tool requires inputs such as factory location, production capacity, cathode and anode materials, electrode thickness, process yield, and vendor tier. The calculator will then provide directional estimates for capital expenditure, operational expenditure, and factory footprint, using conventional slurry-based methods and comparing it to the firm’s dry process under real-world conditions.
The firm claims that a cell maker with a 30GWh factory can save more than $100 million in operating costs by switching to a dry electrode process and produce cells with high-performance. It said its patented dry process, which removes solvents and drying ovens, has 60 percent lower operating costs and up to 40 percent lower capital expenditure. It also reduces facility footprints by a third.
The process allows for faster wetting, binder flexibility, and recyclability of excess powder, which the firm said is not possible using conventional slurry coating. Its calculator can be used by manufacturing firms across the battery value chain.
Lie Shi, CEO, AM Batteries, said: “This tool transforms the value of dry electrode from theory into data. Within minutes, manufacturers can see how our Powder to Electrode™ process impacts their cost structure and the performance of the cells they produce. We’ve removed the guesswork. Anyone considering dry electrode can now quantify the opportunity in minutes.”
Image: A digital render of AM Batteries’ next-generation dry electrode process lithium battery facility. Credit: AM Batteries.
