NEWS Bosch to supply automated battery assembly lines


Bosch is to supply automated assembly lines for battery production that include laser welding technology. It aims to increase vertical


integration in mechanical engineering and, by 2025, generate annual sales of around €250m with equipment for battery production. The firm will also deploy


battery technology in its own plants, investing around €70m this year to expand manufacturing operations. In Eisenach, Germany, it is launching full-scale production of second-generation 48V batteries for the hybridisation of passenger cars. Such batteries reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in vehicles with combustion engines by up to 15 per cent, especially in cities. The firm’s solution portfolio


ranges from the 48V batteries for mild hybridisation to full electric drives and fuel cells. It has also developed batteries for vehicles, e-bikes, power tools and kitchen appliances.


cells. For this purpose, the various functions of module production are combined: cell cleaning with incoming inspection, the stacking process as well as a special laser-welding process, and end- of-line inspection for quality assurance. Thanks to a sophisticated


Bosch supplies automated assembly lines for welding and gluing battery cells


Meeting the demand According to experts, demand for lithium-ion batteries will rise from around 200GWh in 2019 to more than 2,000GWh by 2030 (source: BMWi, 2021). Currently, more than 60 per cent of that demand stems from electromobility (source: VDMA, 2020).


‘Our assumption is the global


battery market will grow up to 25 per cent each year,’ said Rolf Najork, the member of the Bosch board of management


responsible for industrial technology. ‘Bosch is doing its part to meet this demand.’ One of Bosch’s customers


is Webasto, a pioneer in the production of battery packs. The firm has been involved in electromobility since 2016 and, as well as high-voltage heaters and recharging solutions, also focuses on battery systems for electrified vehicles. Bosch is supplying the firm with automated assembly lines for welding and gluing battery


Laser structuring to increase efficiency of hydrogen production


A research project aims to increase conventional water electrolysis efficiency by more than 75 per cent with the help of laser structuring. Water electrolysis – splitting


water into hydrogen and oxygen using an electric current – is the most common way to produce green hydrogen. The process is very energy-intensive, however, meaning hydrogen-powered technology will only ever be environmentally friendly if water electrolysis can be optimised. The InnoEly (Water Electrolysis


Innovation Laboratory) project, running to April 2024, aims to do just this while also reducing electrolysis costs, to allow hydrogen to be a widely usable energy carrier of the future. The project has received initial funding of €1.2m from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture, with its partners including Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI),


6 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE AUTUMN 2021


Leibniz University Hannover, TU Braunschweig, TU Clausthal, University of Oldenburg, DLR Institute for Networked Energy Systems, and the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hameln ISFH.


The partners are developing a


novel catalyst unit to reach their 75 per cent target. In addition, they will be


creating a toolbox of modelling and characterisation components that can be employed for all three relevant water electrolysis technologies: alkaline electrolysis (AEL), acidic proton exchange membrane electrolysis (PEMEL), and high temperature electrolysis (HTEL). For AEL, Fraunhofer HHI


researchers are working on electrodes already used in electrolysis, as well as new electrode components developed by the project partners. Using a femtosecond laser structuring process, they are functionalising


line concept, no particle contamination occurs during processing. Robots automatically assemble the cell stacks in a two-step procedure consisting of dispensing technology and laser welding. With a comprehensive safety concept, it is then possible to establish the battery module’s electrical connection using a highly dynamic and precise laser-welding process. Bosch now develops equipment, machinery, hardware and software for manufacturing battery modules and packs that are built from cylindrical, prismatic or pouch cells and used in electric vehicles.


Femtosecond laser structuring can functionalise different materials for electrocatalysts such as nickel foams and support plates


different materials for electrocatalysts, such as nickel foams and support plates. The structuring optimises the


effect of the electrodes. With this, the so-called overvoltage – the amount of energy loss – can be reduced by up to 20 per cent. This enables the amount of


hydrogen obtained with minimal optimisation of the existing system to be increased. In a second step, the electrode


components produced in this process are characterised. The obtained measurement data serves as a case study for testing and validating the modelling tool.


@LASERSYSTEMSMAG | WWW.LASERSYSTEMSEUROPE.COM


Bosch


Fraunhofer HHI


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46