Eirich demonstrates competence in the preparation of dry electrodes

The energy transition is in full swing. This year’s Battery Show Europe, which takes place from June 18 in Stuttgart/Germany, will once again underline the important role battery production has to play here. Alongside established products for wet electrodes, Eirich – a company well known as an expert and technology leader in the field of mixing technology – will be presenting its latest technology developments for the preparation of dry electrodes.

Visitors to the company's trade fair stand will be able to see a 50-liter R05T mixer with a double-walled mixing pan in a special lithium-ion design for use in a pilot production line with a production capacity of up to approx. 0.1 GWh, as well as material samples of processed, fibrillated anode mixtures.

Hardheim, April 2024: Climate crisis and energy transition – these two topics are inseparably linked to each other. However, the path to e-Mobility is not always climate-friendly. Particularly in the production of lithium-ion battery cells for e-Mobility applications and for stationary energy storage devices, it is vital that carbon emissions are minimized.  This is one of the reasons why dry electrodes are currently gaining ground, as they promise a cost reduction of 15-20%.

Maximized cost efficiency thanks to unrivaled expertise

At the trade fair, the expert in mixing and preparation technology will be presenting the latest options for preparation of wet and dry electrodes. The main focus here will be on the innovative technologies and production experience gleaned from the first MWh and GWh production plants in Asia and Europe. What normally begins with joint customer trials on a laboratory scale at the Eirich Test Center usually develops over time into a long-term partnership. Eirich helps its customers to scale up the solutions not only with bigger machines, but also with the necessary know-how required to integrate the mixers in an overall concept that works – from handling of the powder to transfer of the prepared mixtures to the next production step. And this for anything from small-scale pilot production runs to vast gigafactories with a production capacity of 15-20 GWh.

The gigafactory concepts that have been developed are based on individual customer requirements to deliver high specific throughput, offering an ideal combination of minimal energy consumption with minimal space requirements to enable our customers to reduce investment and operating costs by millions and manufacture electrodes with a minimal CO₂ footprint.

Smaller laboratory scale on its way with EL0,1

Another highlight of the trade fair is set to be the development of a new small-scale mixer that is suitable in particular for coin cell production and for the development of solid-state batteries. The end of the year will see the launch of the new laboratory mixer EL0,1, which is an important alternative for future development of lithium-ion batteries. Above all, it will reduce costs for raw materials, but it will also be suitable for use in gloveboxes. Successful customer and development trials on a prototype have already impressively demonstrated the performance capability and scalability of the mixer.

In future, just a dessert spoon full of raw materials will be needed to try out and test different recipes and newly synthesized raw materials. The smallest Eirich mixer of all time will add a usable capacity of just 30-100 ml to the company’s impressive portfolio. It will be no problem at all to scale up solutions to larger laboratory mixers and then on to pilot machines such as the R05T or even all the way up to large-scale production.

The Battery Show Europe will take place from June 18-20 at the exhibition center in Stuttgart/Germany. The stand of mixing specialist Eirich can be found in hall 10 at booth D90.