LiCAP Technologies and Dürr Systems AG Agree to Provide Breakthrough EV Battery Manufacturing Technology
LiCAP Technologies
5 min read
LiCAP's Breakthrough Activated Dry Electrode® Solution to Be Provided to EV and Battery OEMs Through Dürr Manufacturing Solutions
SACRAMENTO, CA and BIETIGHEIM-BISSINGEN, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / November 20, 2023 / LiCAP Technologies Inc. is proud to announce a new partnership with Dürr Systems AG, a leading global equipment manufacturer, to provide a patented, dry coating technology solution for battery electrode manufacturing, including both cathodes and anodes, to the global electric vehicle industry and energy storage sectors. Together, LiCAP and Dürr will develop manufacturing equipment solutions with the goal of enabling automotive and battery original equipment manufacturers around the world to advance to the next level in battery production.
On the road to industrialization, California-based technology startup LiCAP brings the patented Activated Dry Electrode® process and decades of dry electrode product expertise to the partnership. Dürr, with its long tradition in plant and mechanical engineering, brings the engineering and manufacturing expertise for machines to the partnership and helps to develop the process from pilot scale to series production. French company Ingecal, a new subsidiary of Dürr, brings expertise of calendering technology, one of the key technologies for dry coating equipment.
LiCAP president & CEO, Dr. Linda Zhong, said, "The LiCAP team is pleased to be commercializing its patented Activated Dry Electrode® process with the Dürr team to accelerate the global EV and energy storage future. Our tests, confirmed by our customers, show that Activated Dry Electrode® technology reduces battery costs significantly and increases environmental sustainability compared to existing electrode production methods while improving battery performance and charge times."
Dürr CEO, Dr. Jochen Weyrauch, added, "Dürr is excited to be partnering with Dr. Zhong and the LiCAP team with the goal to provide this patented technology to the marketplace. Dürr is a renowned supplier of leading-edge manufacturing solutions to auto and battery manufacturers, and we can't be happier to add this technology to our product suite. Our partnership aims at providing manufacturing technology to OEMs to reduce battery costs and improve performance, both of which are critical to the future of EVs and Battery OEMs."
Background:
The first project of this partnership calls for Dürr to develop and manufacture the equipment for a one-gigawatt hour (1 GWh) electrode manufacturing line. The two companies anticipate delivering future 1 GWh and 5 GWh manufacturing lines to OEMs after the initial manufacturing line is completed.
The Activated Dry Electrode® process does not use toxic N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP) solvent, eliminating very large wet coating and solvent recovery processes. In the new production line, LiCAP's tests show that overall battery production costs can be decreased, and that significant savings can be realized in energy consumption, manufacturing footprint, and carbon footprint. LiCAP's technology works consistently across a variety of battery chemistries, such as NMC, LFP, LMFP, LMO, graphite as well as Si-added graphite materials. The Activated Dry Electrode® process is also proven to be compatible when creating Catholyte for solid-state batteries.
Dürr Systems AG has a proven track record of high-quality equipment manufacturing and is a leading global brand. Both companies share a commitment to the global reduction of carbon emissions and the increase of green energy by applying their sustainable industry-changing technologies to the betterment of the battery industry.
About Dürr:
The Dürr Group is one of the world's leading mechanical and plant engineering firms with particular expertise in the technology fields of automation, digitalization, and energy efficiency. Its products, systems, and services enable highly efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes - mainly in the automotive industry and for producers of furniture and timber houses, but also in sectors such as the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, medical devices, electrical engineering, and battery production. In 2022, the company generated sales of €4.3 billion. The Dürr Group has over 20,500 employees and 140 business locations in 32 countries, and it operates in the market with five divisions:
• Paint and Final Assembly Systems: paint shops as well as final assembly, testing, and filling technology for the automotive industry
• Application Technology: robots and products for the automated application of paint, sealants, and adhesives
• Clean Technology Systems: air pollution control, coating systems for battery electrodes, and noise abatement systems
• Industrial Automation Systems: automated assembly and test systems for automotive components, medical devices, and consumer goods as well as balancing and diagnostic technology
• Woodworking Machinery and Systems: machinery and equipment for the woodworking industry
About LiCAP Technologies:
Based in Sacramento, California, LiCAP was founded in 2016 by Dr. Linda Zhong and Martin Zea and has since become a global leader in process engineering for lithium-ion battery electrodes, lithium-ion capacitors, and ultracapacitors using its Activated Dry Electrode® technology and lithiation techniques. The company has a strong presence of ultracapacitors for wind turbines for emergency pitch control, rail switching, telecommunications, and various other applications. The company is targeting power tools and heavy machinery for its lithium-ion capacitors. LiCAP's proprietary process and equipment design for the Activated Dry Electrode® process lays the foundation for cost-effective, energy-efficient, and sustainable manufacturing of electrodes for energy storage devices. LiCAP's technology has been recognized by the California Energy Commission, which in 2023 granted LiCAP $3 million towards the build out of an electrode production line that uses the Company's Activated Dry Electrode® technology. Dr. Linda Zhong personally has obtained over 100 issued patents worldwide and has a 25-year track record of commercializing products from R&D to mass production. Dr. Zhong is the original inventor of dry electrode technology while serving as the senior R&D director and technical fellow at Maxwell Technologies. The company was purchased by Tesla in 2019 solely due to Dr. Zhong's invention of a dry method to manufacture carbon-based electrodes.
Contacts:
Dürr Systems AG Andreas Schaller/ Mathias Christen (Corporate Communications & Investor Relations) +49 7142 78-1785 / -1381 corpcom@durr.com
LiCAP Technologies, Inc. David Wojciechowski, VP Business Development (916) 329-8099 Ext 104 dave.wojo@licaptechnologies.com
