The new GigaCoater™ from Dürr will boost the efficiency in battery electrode production.
The German engineering company Dürr has launched GigaCoater™: its simultaneous two-sided coating technology for the battery manufacturing industry. Indeed, this new technology is designed for battery cell OEMs and combines wider substrate capabilities with faster coating speeds - thus reducing cost, while maintaining automotive-grade quality across widths up to 1,200 mm.
Dürr has been providing two-sided simultaneous coating technologies for battery electrode production since 2006, constantly refining and improving its offering. GigaCoater™ is developed through substantial investment in research and development, demonstrating the company's commitment to providing state-of-the-art solutions that promote efficient and cost-effective production.
The GigaCoater™ features a straight-path product flow with two coating stations combined in a single location, complemented by a non-contact flotation drying system. This configuration results in a more compact manufacturing footprint, reduces energy consumption, as well as eliminates edge curl after drying. Additionally, the innovative coating process uses a slot-die against a backing roll, followed by a tensioned-web-over-slot-die (TWOSD), enabling simultaneous two-sided coating of the foil in a single pass. The air flotation dryer ensures even, non-contact drying on both sides, improving electrode quality.
Moreover, the GigaCoater™' simplified layout provides significant operating cost savings
due to its single dryer system, less reel handling, reduced manning requirements due to its single-level design, reduced material waste and reduced space requirements – therefore offering huge annual savings. The new technology also enhances product quality by eliminating edge curl, ensuring uniform drying on both sides and improving top-to-bottom alignment.
Finally, with the GigaCoater™, Dürr extends its range of simultaneous two-sided coating machines, which previously consisted of the PilotCoater and ProCoater:
- PilotCoater can handle sheets up to 350 mm with coating speeds of up to 10 meters per minute and is ideal for production and continuous process and product development.
- ProCoater, a larger-scale coating line, can handle web widths between 350 and 700 mm and coating speeds of up to 50 m/min, supporting large-scale lithium-ion battery production.