ProMeBa

Equipment and Process Development for the Scaled Production of Multilayer Next-Gen Battery Electrodes – ProMeBa

Funding: BMFTR (03XPB040C)

Project researcher: Silas Wolf

Duration: 3 years (01.06.2026 – 31.05.2029)

Summary of the overall project:

The performance, service life and cost of lithium-ion batteries depend to a large extent on the structure of their electrodes. Today’s conventional single-layer, homogeneous electrodes are increasingly reaching their limits as demands for energy density, fast-charging capability and cycle stability rise. Multilayer electrode architectures offer a promising approach. Gradients in porosity, binder distribution, particle size or active material allow ion transport, adhesion and mechanical stability to be tailored specifically. Laboratory studies demonstrate improved rate capability, higher cycle stability and up to tenfold greater adhesion strength. So far, however, these benefits have been limited to laboratory scale, sequential processes or dry coating. Simultaneous wet coating of multiple layers in an industrial roll-to-roll process has not yet been achieved. Yet it promises straightforward integration into existing production lines and eliminates energy-intensive intermediate drying steps, since all layers are dried together.

This is where the joint project ProMeBa comes in, developing the production of multilayer anodes and cathodes up to pilot scale. Based on a material screening and model-based electrode design, suitable formulations and layer architectures are first developed in the laboratory. At the core of the project is a newly developed coating module with a two-layer slot die and integrated in-line viscosity measurement. It is integrated into existing pilot lines and benchmarked against multilayer curtain coating as an alternative process. In parallel, drying and calendering are simulated, and the electrodes are evaluated electrochemically up to large-format pouch cells. The results feed into the concept of an innovation module for series production.

Objectives and tasks of iPAT

• Development of a coupled CFD-DEM simulation of the drying of multilayer electrodes, including binder and carbon black migration across layer boundaries
• Subsequent DEM calendering simulation to predict compaction, elastic recovery and residual stresses
• Calibration and validation of the simulation chain using experimental laboratory data
• Simulation studies based on DoE to identify critical parameters and robust process windows for drying and calendering
• Derivation of interpretable equations using a hybrid, physics-informed AI framework combining dimensional analysis, symbolic regression and transformers
• Transfer of the validated correlations into reduced-order models as a basis for digital twins

Project partners: RWTH Aachen University (PEM), RWTH Aachen University (ISEA), Fraunhofer IKTS, NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbH, 8inks Deutschland GmbH