Dürr presents improved system for electrode coating

The German mechanical engineering company Dürr is presenting a further developed system for simultaneously coating both sides of battery cell electrodes. The 'GigaCoater' is designed to reduce manufacturers' production costs, among other things.

Demonstration GigaCoater at Dürr USA. Image: Dürr

Dürr developed the new GigaCoater for the competing battery cell OEMs and has now revealed the attained improvements in several areas. The system is designed to combine wider substrate capacities with a faster coating speed, thus guaranteeing “a significant reduction in manufacturing costs while maintaining automotive-grade quality across widths of up to 1,200 mm”, according to the company.

The German engineering specialists have been offering technology for simultaneous double-sided coating of electrodes since 2006 and have continued to develop the process ever since. The latest version is the result of extensive investment in research and development. According to Dürr, the new system is characterised by a linear product flow in which two coating stations are combined in one place and supplemented by a non-contact floating drying system. Dürr says the streamlined configuration results in a more compact production area, which reduces energy consumption and prevents the edges from rolling up after drying.

With the GigaCoater, Dürr is expanding its portfolio of machines for simultaneous double-sided coating, which previously consisted of the PilotCoater and the ProCoater. The PilotCoater processes films up to 350 mm with a coating speed of up to 10 meters per minute. The ProCoater, a coating system on a larger scale, is suitable for web widths of 350 to 700 mm and coating speeds of up to 50 m/min. According to Dürr, both products are already in use at “leading battery manufacturers worldwide.”

Dürr already made a name for itself at the Battery Show Europe in June, where the company presented the vision of a concept factory for the production of lithium-ion batteries along with two other medium-sized German companies, Grob and Manz. The concept is part of the joint plan to offer complete battery production systems from a single source. In 2022, Dürr revealed it was providing the world’s biggest battery maker, CATL, with machines for its European production plant in Hungary.

durr.com