RWTH Aachen University’s Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) has launched the KOOP project in partnership with Fraunhofer FFB and mixing specialist hs·tumbler.
The initiative, backed by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, aims to accelerate the industrialisation of battery production technologies – specifically through a new collaborative model called ‘Highly Cooperative Scaling’.
The three-year programme will explore how early-stage coordination between innovators and Fraunhofer FFB can reduce delays in scaling lab-developed technologies to industrial application. The project’s use case centres on sodium-ion battery development, with a focus on hard carbon anodes produced via trajectory mixing.
“Challenges in knowledge and data transfer as well as previously uncoordinated financing and scaling strategies lead to idle times ranging from six months to several years,” said PEM director, Professor Achim Kampker.
The KOOP team will work to establish structured exchanges of personnel, data and management strategies to streamline the transfer of innovation. This includes joint planning for plant technology upgrades and capacity expansion.
“This allows preparations – such as adjustments to plant technology or capacity planning – to be made at an early stage for the transfer of innovation, and it significantly shortens the time required,” said PEM management member, Professor Heiner Heimes.
The project is expected to serve as a blueprint for future collaborations with Fraunhofer FFB and could play a key role in advancing sodium-ion battery industrialisation. According to the partners, trajectory mixing may reduce energy consumption by at least 50% compared to conventional methods.
Image: KOOP aims to accelerate the industrialisation of battery production technologies. © hs·tumbler.
