Swiss battery storage company Leclanché is to ramp up production capacity for lithium-ion battery modules for transport applications at a new facility in Switzerland.
Leclanché is partnering with Italian industrial automation firm Comau for the project, which will see an automated production line installed in a new facility being built at a technology park adjacent to Leclanché’s headquarters in Yverdon-les Bains.
A Leclanché spokesperson told BEST Battery Briefing the new line would have an annual production capacity of 350-400MWh, which would mark a “six-to-tenfold increase” in existing battery-making capacity for e-mobility applications, such as marine transport, at the site.
The new production line, said to be one of the world’s first automated manufacturing lines for lithium-ion battery modules for transport applications by Leclanché, is expected to be launched in April 2020 and be fully operational by the summer of that year, the spokesperson said.
“The all-in-one solution selected is capable of automating the entire battery manufacturing process, from pouch cell stacking and welding to the final assembly of up to 32 different product configurations,”Leclanché said. The system will also deploy Comau’s laser welding technology, to improve the welding process by offering “increased productivity and model flexibility”.
Leclanché CEO Anil Srivastava (pictured) said: “Leclanché made an early investment in developing a DNV GL certified battery system for marine applications, and is the first battery supplier to fully comply with the stringent 2015 regulations. Our partnership with Comau will enable us to produce our leading energy storage solutions for e-transport and e-marine applications at an industrial scale, securing Leclanché’s position as the provider of energy storage solutions to the sizeable and fast growing electric and hybrid mass transport market.”
