Comau has joined forces with LiNa Energy to design an innovative and scalable manufacturing solution for solid-state sodium-metal-chloride battery cells. Through simultaneous engineering, the team has finalized a concept design. This allows LiNa, a provider of low-cost solid-state sodium battery technologies, to automate its battery production process.
The companies intend to validate the sustainable, safe, and efficient oxygen-free dry box environment as a step toward larger-scale manufacturing.
Comau and LiNa engineers worked in tandem to design the enclosure and handling equipment for the specific components of the solid-state battery cell and to identify and integrate existing commercially available equipment — including Comau’s cleanroom classified, high-speed Racer-5 SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENTS, articulated robots into the design.
This collaborative approach enabled Comau to suggest modifications to LiNa’s existing manufacturing methodology to optimize process dynamics in the move to automatic cell assembly.
“This automated manufacturing concept, designed with Comau’s engineering team, provides a clear technology roadmap to significantly increase production capacity of our patented battery cells,” said Kris Barr, director of Operations. “Having successfully researched the process dynamics and finalized an innovative design proposal, we are looking forward to taking the next steps in our mission to commercialize our sustainable, low-cost solid-state sodium batteries.”
Highlighting its 50 years of expertise in automation and continued investments in the electrification sector, Comau has provided LiNa with a detailed technology roadmap to automate its innovative cell manufacturing process. By leveraging its ongoing development of new manufacturing technologies for next-generation battery cells, Comau is increasingly able to provide a 360° cradle-to-grave e-Mobility strategy.
Development advances in sodium-based battery cells are driving the deployment of a safe, sustainable energy source that can be used at high temperatures. Instead of completely replacing lithium-ion batteries, next-generation solid-state sodium batteries will provide high performance energy storage that is cost efficient and can be optimized for renewable energy integration.
“Our steadfast commitment to energy transformation is a perfect match for a company like LiNa, whose vision and engineering competence are promoting and enabling the development of high-performance sodium-based energy storage solutions,” confirms Gian Carlo Tronzano, head of e-Mobility Global Competence Center. “It was a great opportunity for us to have worked side-by-side to validate a manufacturing process design that will put LiNa on the path toward larger-scale industrialization of their solid-state sodium cell technology.”
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