The multi-roller smoothing calender MWG 450 L with 4 rollers is used for compacting and laminating powder material. Battery electrodes can also be compacted. The calender has 4 driven rollers and 2 winding systems for substrate and release film. The calender rollers can be individually heated to a temperature of up to 180° C.
Two-roll calender
The two-roll calender GK300L from Saueressig is mainly used in the dry coating of battery electrodes. The calender allows different speed ratios of the rollers to be set, whereby shear forces are transferred to the material. Free-standing films are produced from powders or granulates, which can then be laminated onto a substrate film. The two-roll calender can also be used to compact various materials, such as electrodes or solid electrolytes. The calender is suitable for film widths up to max. 290 mm and can be operated force- or gap-controlled at a maximum line load of 500 N/mm (based on 300 mm roll width) and rotational speeds of 0.5 – 5.0 m/min.
Type 350 roll to roll coater
The Type 350 roll to roll coater from Mathis is a pilot scale coating and drying device developed for the production of battery electrodes. A doctor blade or slot die is used to coat thin metal foils with water- or solvent-based electrode slurry wet films. The subsequent dryer with a length of six meters evaporates the solvent. Web speeds of 0.5 to 10 m/min are used with coating widths between 80 and 280 mm. A variety of process parameter can be adjusted, such as air flow, air temperature, air moisture, web speed, web tension and gap width. Product and intermediate product parameters can also be measured. These include areal mass loading, film temperature and air flow. The device can be equipped with additional methods of heat introduction, like infrared, IR-Laser and induction, and additional sensors for example for colour values.
Dissolver VMA Getzmann
The dissolver is a robust and versatile device for the production of suspensions. The most important function of the disperser is the incorporation of solids into liquids. Two individual steps are carried out simultaneously during the dispersing process:
Wetting the surface of the solid particles
Mechanical breaking up of solid particles (agglomerates to form aggregates) by an energy input
The dissolver enables both dispersing at high peripheral speeds and stirring and mixing in the low speed range. Targeted adjustment of the stirring parameters enables precise and comparable production of suspensions (e.g. battery slurry).
The dissolver has both a continuous cooling system and the option of working under vacuum. The different sizes of the dissolver discs and containers allow for a wide range of batch sizes. The most important operating parameters (such as temperature, power, time, speed and peripheral speed) are recorded in parallel with the process so that the dispersion process can then be analysed in detail.
Two of these dissolvers, which can be operated in parallel, are available at the BLB. Their maximum output is 2.2 kW. The maximum filling volume (batch size) is 1.6 litres (pilot scale).
The GranuPack from GranuTools is a high-resolution tapped density analyser. It measures the packing dynamics of a powder in order to classify powders in terms of flowability and processability. Measured variables are compaction curve of tap density, final tap density, bulk density, Hausner Ratio and compacting speed.
Mercury porosimeter
The mercury porosimeter Poremaster PM60GT from Quantachrome can be used to determine the pore size distribution of a variety of porous materials such as electrodes, powders or tablets. By measuring in a pressure range of 20,000 - 60,000 PSI, pores in the size range from 3.6 nm to approx. 20 µm can be detected.
Cold-Wall Retort Furnaces
The SVHT 02/30-GR cold-wall retort furnace from Nabertherm enables the high-temperature treatment of samples at temperatures from 600 °C to a maximum of 2700 °C (3000 °C on request) in an argon atmosphere. The maximum dimensions of the samples must not exceed 150 mm diameter, 150 mm height and 2 kg mass.
Karl-Fischer-Titrator
The AQUA 40.00 with headspace module and oven from ECH Elektrochemie Halle GmbH is designed for measuring the moisture content of all types of solid samples depending on the sample mass. The influence of the surrounding atmosphere is also considered.
Maccor Battery Test System
All Maccor test systems are multi-channel, computerised and capable of fully automated testing of battery cells. The Maccor test system offers a wide range of current and voltage capabilities. The Model 4000 offers up to 256 test channels per test system with currents as low as 150 microamps full scale, currents up to 2,000 amps and voltages up to 150 volts. Test steps and data acquisition are fully programmable from 10 millisecond intervals to months. Special pulse options allow pulses to be down to 100 microseconds. The internal update rate is either 10 milliseconds as standard or milliseconds as standard or optionally 5 or 1 milliseconds. All test channels are housed in temperature cabinets.
Mathis Beschichtungsanlage
The continuous coating system developed by Werner Mathis AG represents a bespoke research and development apparatus for the coating of anodes and cathodes. The electrode suspension is applied by means of doctor blade coating. Innovative drying mechanisms, such as infrared emitter technology, are utilised and researched. Furthermore, the integrated sensor system enables comprehensive process control, including the continuous determination of the coating thickness and basis weight before and after drying, as well as checking the edge elevation. Additionally, the coating system can be used to analyse the dry coating area by means of brush application.
Ringscherzelle RST XS
The RST XS ring shear cell, produced by Dietmar Schulze, enables the determination of characteristic values of powders that are pertinent to the design of silos. The ring shear cell can be employed to measure the flowability, internal friction, time consolidation or bulk density of powders for the purpose of product characterisation and optimization. Additionally, it is possible to determine the wall friction of powders.
SSB-Gloveboxes
A set of several Gloveboxes from MBraun Inertgas-Systeme GmbH is available and has been equipped with devices for the production of sulfide-based solid-state batteries (SSB). Beginning with the synthesis of the solid electrolyte, the mixing and coating of electrodes and separators as well as the densification and cell assembly – all process steps can be realised in inert Argon atmosphere without the risk of material degradation due to oxygen or moisture.
ThermoFisher PTW OS16 Extruder
The Thermo Scientific™ Haake™ Rheomex™ PTW 16 OS extruder offers the possibility of continuously processing electrode material. While conventional production processes utilising solvents can be employed for this purpose, it is also possible to conduct novel experiments in the domain of semi-dry or dry electrode production. Depending on the material in question, mass flows of 0.5 to 3.0 kg/h are feasible with this extruder.
Zwick
The Zwick from Zwick Roell is a versatile measuring device for testing powders and electrodes. The measurement of the specific conductivity is an interesting parameter for the quality of the dispersion of powders and electrodes. By means of a 180° pull-off test, it is possible to determine the adhesive strength of the electrodes.
