Germany is a step closer to manufacturing PHEV-1 lithium-ion batteries on an industrial scale thanks to the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW).
The institute was able to manufacture automotive Li-ion cells for plug-in hybrid cars – a first for Germany – following the completion of a new research production line in Ulm last December.
The cells have a terminal voltage of 4.1 volts, weigh 650 grams, and comply with the PHEV-1 standard for plug-in hybrids.
The cells’ capacity of 23Ah matches Asian-made commercial cells, and offer considerable potential for improvement on top of that, ZSW claims.
The production line includes a fully automated system for winding, installing and filling prismatic (PHEV-1) cells with a cycle time of 1 cell / min – meaning it is able to produce several hundred high-quality cells per day.
The Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) provided €25.7million in funding for equipment. The state of Baden- Württemberg’s Ministry of Finance and Economy (MFW) contributed €6million in subsidies to build the extension necessary to house the hardware.
Prof. Werner Tillmetz, a member of ZSW’s board of directors and head of the Electrochemical Energy Technologies division, said: “This is a great success for researchers, the industry and policymakers who want Germany to become the leading supplier in electric mobility.
“It will be possible to manufacture competitive batteries for electric cars in our country.”
“This is not the end of the road. With improved processes, we will be able to significantly increase capacity, quality and yield in the months ahead.”
The research facilities at ZSW are open to all industrial enterprises such as manufacturers of battery materials, mechanical engineering firms and research institutions.
