Dürr, a leading German mechanical engineering company, has introduced an advanced coating system called the GigaCoater, designed for the simultaneous coating of both sides of battery cell electrodes. This new technology aims to significantly lower production costs for manufacturers while maintaining high quality.
The GigaCoater is tailored for competing battery cell original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and boasts several improvements. According to Dürr, the system can handle wider substrate capacities at faster coating speeds, ensuring “a significant reduction in manufacturing costs while maintaining automotive-grade quality across widths of up to 1,200 mm.”
Dürr has been at the forefront of simultaneous double-sided coating technology since 2006, continuously evolving the process through substantial research and development investments. The latest GigaCoater features a linear product flow with two integrated coating stations, enhanced by a non-contact floating drying system. This streamlined design minimizes energy consumption and helps prevent edge rolling after drying, resulting in a more compact production area.
With the GigaCoater, Dürr is expanding its range of machines for double-sided coating, which previously included the PilotCoater and ProCoater. The PilotCoater accommodates film widths up to 350 mm and offers a coating speed of up to 10 meters per minute, while the ProCoater supports widths from 350 to 700 mm with speeds reaching 50 m/min. Both systems are currently utilized by “leading battery manufacturers worldwide,” according to the company.
Dürr showcased its innovative vision at the Battery Show Europe in June, presenting a concept factory for lithium-ion battery production in collaboration with other German firms, Grob and Manz.
This initiative aims to provide comprehensive battery production systems from a single source. In 2022, Dürr announced its partnership with CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, to supply machinery for its production facility in Hungary.
