How do you dry battery electrodes?

The starting point for drying battery electrodes on an industrial scale is a wet film of particulate solvent dispersions, which are applied to a current collector foil by slot-die coating. Conventional convective drying removes the solvent from the wet film and solidifies the layer as the drying time progresses ( Figure 1 ).

Can lasers dry lithium-ion battery electrodes?

In recent years, initial investigations of electrode drying using lasers have been carried out and government-funded research projects like ExLaLib, [ 42, 43 ] LaserScale, [ 44 ] and Ideel [ 45, 46 ] look into the laser drying technology for lithium-ion battery electrodes.

Can a convection dryer dry thick electrode coatings?

Wixom et al. and Ahmad et al. reported a successful drying process for thick electrode coatings using a combination of convection drying and variable frequency microwaves. [ 64, 65 ] In a pilot line electrode dryer with a length of 1 m, the drying speed for NMP-based cathodes was tripled.

Why do we need electrode drying technologies?

The need for energy, CO 2 footprint, and cost reductions in LIB production has sparked interest in developing innovative electrode drying technologies that improve the drying rate and introduce the heat more efficiently into the coating.

Why do we need a long dryer section for Lib production?

Currently, the state-of-the-art convective drying process employed during solvent-based electrode production is a key reason for the high electrical energy consumption of the LIB production process and also requires long dryer sections with huge investment costs.

Can convective dryers reduce energy consumption?

Conventional convective dryers heat air as an indirect drying medium. The alternatives presented in this work directly introduce the energy into the electrode, thus, increasing the efficiency of energy usage and, by that, reducing the energy demand and the CO 2 footprint of electrode production.