InoBat presents AI-driven battery cell

InoBat Auto from Slovakia presents what it claims is the world’s first “intelligent” battery cell for electric vehicles. And not only that, the company says their approach to battery production makes it possible to produce better cells faster and more efficiently while offering more range.

So much for ambition. In numbers, InoBat is hoping their cells will increase the range of electric vehicles by almost 20 per cent. The trick, so they claim, is in new manufacturing that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with High Throughput (HTP) technology. HTP is a screening method from pharmaceutical research that can be used to carry out tests on many substances. Then applying AI, InoBat aims to find the most promising cell chemistry for the respective customer application, so they state.

Co-Founder and CEO of InoBat Auto, Marian Bocek commented: “No other battery cell maker has the technology to discover and demonstrate battery chemistries as quick. InoBat can provide its customers with the ‘best’ answer.”

What exactly this solution will entail is unclear. InoBat only set targets for energy densities. By late 2021 their batteries are to provide 265Wh/kg and said density is to increase to 298Wh/kg by mid-2022. The next goal for Inobat is to “generate battery cells that have 330-350 Wh/kg and 1000Wh/l by the end of 2023”. The company also aims to reduce dependence on cobalt and increase energy density to 330 Wh/kg and 1,000 Wh/L by the end of 2023.

Add to this their long-term ambition to remove nickel from batteries and further develop anode technologies to target 500 Wh/kg, according to the company ultimately.

It is unclear what they will replace it with and against the trend in the industry. Tesla for example is seeking to increase the nickel content of its cells and has been looking to source the material locally in North America. They too, are increasingly looking to smarten their manufacturing processes to gain competitive advantages when it comes to cells.

InoBat also has been making progress on its pilot line under construction in Slovakia and the announcement today appears to underline the focus on production. Besides, InoBat placed an order with Manz just at the start of the month to supply machinery. Manz then communicated that the machines were for making stacked lithium-ion pouch cells so you may take this as an indication for the type of cells InoBat is envisioning.

The planned battery cell production line with an annual capacity of 100 MWh near the capital Bratislava is scheduled to go into operation in Voderady at the end of 2021. InoBat is also planning for a larger factory with production capacities of up to 10 GWh by 2024.

Financing comes from a consortium of investors with the IPM Group, an InfraTech asset management company, in the lead.

More leadership has also been added to InoBat’s board. The former Aston Martin boss and Nissan chief planner Andy Palmer joined as “non-executive vice-chairman”.

Information via email, inobatauto.eu (Palmer)