A team of researchers from four German institutes has successfully concluded the ‘InForm’ project after more than three and a half years, resulting in an AI-powered process designed to optimize and assess battery cell properties earlier in the development cycle.
The project, led by the Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) at RWTH Aachen University, aims to simplify the development of customized battery cells. According to the university’s announcement, earlier optimization of battery properties will help streamline both development and production.
Using artificial intelligence (AI) and physicochemical modeling, the project team intervened in the forming step of battery production, with the goal of achieving long-term positive effects and ensuring process safety. “This has shown that it is possible to form customised batteries with shorter process times, for example with a view to improved electrical properties or service life, and to develop needs-based procedures more quickly,” said a representative from the RWTH Chair of PEM.
The ‘forming’ process, which occurs at the final step of battery production, involves charging the assembled cell for the first time. This is when the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer forms on the electrodes, which impacts the performance, safety, and longevity of the cell. The team employed electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to monitor the resistance of the SEI layer during formation, enabling the team to assess battery quality early in the process. “Instead of only being able to assess production success with the end-of-line test, we can determine battery quality beforehand without any interruption to the process,” said Tobias Robben, project manager at PEM.
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With this new approach, researchers were able to reduce process time by 50 percent using a pulse forming protocol, followed by an additional 20 percent reduction with AI assistance. The integration of AI also allows for quicker identification of defects, thus reducing both time and production costs.
Professor Achim Kampker, director of PEM, emphasized the role of digitalization and AI in transforming lithium-ion battery production. “Being able to manufacture batteries individually and with automated quality assessment is going to be a key factor in competitive battery production,” he said.
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The project was part of the ‘Intelligent Battery Cell Production’ (InZePro) competence cluster, which is funded by the German government. The partners involved include the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) for Electrochemical Energy Storage at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), and the Institute for High Voltage Technology and Energy Systems (elenia) at the TU Braunschweig.
