Initial Situation:
Energy sources, such as solar plants or wind power stations, require energy generation and consumption to be decoupled in terms of time and space. For this reason, electrical energy storage systems are used to compensate for fluctuations in demand, with various technologies being deployed for this purpose. Lithium-ion batteries are a promising technology. However, there is room for improvement in terms of efficiency regarding design and development, manufacture and assembly, operation and recycling.
Goals:
The project focuses on finding a more efficient way to assemble energy storage systems. The entire product lifecycle is to be considered, from design and development to manufacturing, assembly, utilisation and recycling. The aim is to fundamentally redefine and optimize the storage modules with regard to design and development. An innovative design is to be developed in combination with the direct integration of functions, such as electrical contacts or sensors. A high degree of automation is aimed for in manufacturing and assembly in order to create an automated assembly process which allows different module variants to be produced. The fundamental aspects of the operating phase are to be considered with the help of simulations and the recycling of components should be taken into account during the design work. The parts should be able to be disassembled and separated easily.
Process:
The requirements for innovative cell holders and the necessary systems engineering need to be defined. There are three main topics: design and development (I), manufacture and assembly (II) and operation (III). The topic of design and development focuses on concepts for efficient disassembly and recycling of components and materials, suitable designs for assembly, clamping technology and the integration of functions. The topic of manufacture and assembly covers human-robot-collaboration for the automated assembly of battery modules, industrial handing, the direct integration of inline quality assurance and joining technology. In order to ensure that the battery cells will actually work, thermal and electrical simulations are to be carried out and cell failure simulated. Several demonstrators are to be manufactured and inspected for validation purposes.
