The development of an economical and sustainable battery cell production is still a challenge that Germany must overcome in order to take a leading position in global market competition as a player in the field of electromobility. The implementation of this vision is supported by Industry 4.0 applications that enable a transformation of production towards more efficient processes, higher quality and cost savings. In partially visionary approaches, Industry 4.0 and the associated digital transformation describes the networking of autonomous, situation-dependent, self-controlling, configuring, knowledge-based, sensor-based and spatially distributed production resources.
An understanding of the interrelationships between raw materials, production processes and the battery cell factory environment is a necessary prerequisite for this. In order to contribute to this understanding, the project TrackBatt aims to develop and implement an approach for the seamless tracking and tracing of processes and process chains in battery production. The TrackBatt project is part of the BMBF competence cluster Intelligent Battery Cell Production (InZePro).
The aim of the research project is the development and prototypical implementation of an approach for the seamless tracking and tracing (T&T) of processes and the process chain in battery production. With this approach, performance and damage patterns of manufactured battery cells can be clearly traced back to production processes and parameters. In addition, inline process and production control systems can be enabled, which reduce manufacturing costs and increase the quality of the battery cells. Within the scope of this research project, suitable markings for a T&T system of battery cells from electrode production to forming are to be developed, a lean and complete data acquisition is to be realized, and a holistic evaluation is to be enabled. Specifically, the IWF is responsible for improving the direct communication between different systems for the unambiguous tracing of process and product data. For this purpose, an ontology of battery cell production formalizes the know-how about production and product states. This involves recording states, terminology, intermediate product structures and properties as well as their relationship and rules of derivation in order to facilitate communication between man and machine.
