Drying out the EV battery manufacturing course of.
Decreasing the price of batteries is crucial #1 in right now’s EV market. Battery prices have plummeted over the previous few years, however by some estimates, the battery nonetheless accounts for roughly 40% of an EV’s complete price—and the upper upfront price of EVs is the principle obstacle to broader adoption.
Essentially the most dependable strategy to cut back the price of batteries is to cut back the price of manufacturing batteries, and automakers and battery suppliers are continually in search of new processes. Of the options producers are actively evaluating proper now, dry electrode manufacturing has emerged as one of the promising.
Right now, battery electrodes are made utilizing a moist slurry course of that requires costly tools, plenty of vitality and the usage of environmentally damaging solvents. LiCAP Applied sciences has developed a dry electrode manufacturing course of that eliminates solvent and drying ovens from the method. The corporate claims its course of can cut back vitality use by about 40% and total battery manufacturing price by as much as 50%.
On this unique interview, Richard Qiu, President of LiCAP Applied sciences, defined to Charged how dry electrode tech not solely lowers prices, but in addition creates longer-lasting, better-performing electrodes, and will assist the US mitigate China’s domination of the EV battery market.
Charged: What’s your small business mannequin? Are you licensing your dry electrode expertise to battery-makers and/or OEMs, or are you producing electrodes your self?
Richard Qiu: A little bit of each. We pioneered energetic dry processing expertise years again, and we proceed to hone the method. Now we’re at some extent that we’re able to scale and we now have some OEM clients able to undertake our expertise to take action. As a result of it takes fairly a little bit of effort and time to construct a large-scale manufacturing line, we’re working with OEMs to license our expertise. One in every of our companions, Dürr, the big tools producer, has licensed our expertise to supply and set up the tools for the OEMs.
Our main enterprise mannequin is licensing our expertise for each the processing expertise and the tools. Nevertheless, within the meantime, OEMs need to use our product to pilot, to check and to proceed innovating. Earlier than getting their massive manufacturing strains put in, they need product from us, so we now have a small manufacturing functionality in Sacramento to supply dry electrodes for these OEMs.
Charged: Your course of eliminates some steps within the conventional moist slurry course of, saving cash and complexity. Give us some extra particulars about how that works.
Richard Qiu: The standard moist course of primarily consists of 5 steps. That will not seem to be too many, but it surely’s 5 gigantic steps, every with lots of transferring items. Clearly, you possibly can enhance every step, however the higher manner to enhance the method is definitely to get rid of a few of these steps. So, we shrink the 5 steps into three steps, which considerably reduces the complexity of the method, in addition to the scale of the power required to put in the tools.
The standard moist course of consists of 5 steps. We shrink the 5 steps into three, which considerably reduces the complexity of the method, in addition to the scale of the power required to put in the tools.
We do a easy three-step course of. Within the first one, you combine the supplies, you concentrate on formulation, get the best binder and activating supplies in there, and put together for manufacturing. The second step we name the freestanding movie. Then the final step is densification, calendering.
Whenever you do moist processing, you set all the things altogether alongside the best way, however after we do our course of, we produce freestanding movie. One advantage of doing that’s you can produce totally different chemistries—that’s why we name our platform chemistry-agnostic. You simply need to handle the blending, be certain the chemistry works effectively and produce on the pace you need on the thickness you need to produce.
A key aspect of that’s that any waste due to course of irregularity or the sting of the movie, you possibly can 100% recycle, that means that you’ll save super quantities of uncooked supplies. As everyone knows, battery uncooked supplies are costly and so they’re exhausting to seek out, notably right here within the US, so 100% recycling is super.
And after producing the freestanding movie, then you possibly can carry out densification primarily based on the appliance, whether or not it’s EV, vitality storage or one other software.
Charged: Making the transition from the moist to the dry course of sounds prefer it takes a while. Are you able to give us an thought of how far alongside in that course of you’re with some clients, and the way lengthy it is perhaps earlier than this course of is definitely getting used on the manufacturing line?
Richard Qiu: Good query. We’ve two OEM clients which are adopting our applied sciences. First one is Cellforce, which is a part of Porsche in Europe, and so they’re working in direction of bringing a brand new high-performance automotive to market. They’ve some efficiency metrics they need to hit, however they’re additionally fascinated with price financial savings. This can be a greenfield alternative—they’re constructing a gigafactory for that functionality. We began working with them final yr and we proceed to assist them fine-tune the totally different items.
The subsequent mission is our partnership with Nissan in Japan. We’re working collectively to develop new expertise for a next-generation all-solid-state EV battery. We’ve been working with them for a few years, however we lately expanded our strategic partnership to collectively develop the solid-state battery. They already constructed part of the plant in 2025. Now we’re within the means of working with them to refine the expertise, and in addition constructing a gigafactory, and we’re focusing on manufacturing in 2028.
Now the query is, what if you have already got a multi-billion-dollar funding within the moist course of in place? We begin to see individuals have these conversations about at what level they may convert from moist to dry. That is no totally different than every other expertise adoption curve. You’ll all the time have higher expertise arising, in all probability cheaper, higher, quicker. However what are you going to do? It’s a must to swap to new expertise.
We see lots of attention-grabbing demand for greenfield alternatives. When you have to construct a brand new facility, our expertise makes it simpler for individuals to take action, as a result of incremental funding for CapEx is usually 50% of what it’s a must to make investments for the moist course of. And the power dimension in all probability shrinks by 60% and incremental OpEx is diminished by 60-70%.
Among the course of tools may be dropped in. Some in all probability must be modified. Some received’t be wanted in any respect—for instance, massive solution-drying tools. And also you’re going to make use of much less vitality. Sixty p.c of the electrical energy used for electrode manufacturing is used within the drying course of. We get rid of that. So, we’re within the early stage for conversion initiatives, however we’re within the center stage when it comes to doing new initiatives.
Charged: So, a greenfield mission versus changing an current line, these would have two totally different timelines.
Richard Qiu: That’s proper. I might say the greenfield initiatives will see earlier adoption than the substitute initiatives.
Charged: You say your course of is chemistry-agnostic.
Richard Qiu: Our platform is usually extra versatile than the moist course of, as a result of as you simplify the method, there are fewer issues you have to modify. From our perspective, it’s actually two issues. One is the chemistry and the way you combine the supplies. With freestanding movie, you continue to have to regulate the chemistry, binder and activation, to verify the movie high quality is there and the thickness uniformity is there, as a result of the totally different supplies have totally different traits—particle dimension, that type of factor. However for us, it’s simpler to regulate, and in addition simpler to experiment to verify we obtain one of the best course of parameters so we are able to obtain the best manufacturing throughput.
We’ve achieved that for greater than half a dozen chemistries, as a result of we’re working with totally different OEMs, totally different clients which have their totally different functions. For instance, one of many main enterprises working with us right here in US for an vitality storage software, they use totally different chemistry and a special course of, totally different thickness of the electrode.
Charged: Inform us extra about your work with Nissan to develop solid-state batteries. Is {that a} separate factor out of your manufacturing line improvements, or do they complement one another?
Richard Qiu: It’s working collectively. For all-solid-state batteries, it’s a special, new chemistry, and a number of the components are delicate to the surroundings, the temperature, that type of factor, so it’s a must to make them in managed settings. The solid-state battery has very robust efficiency metrics and folks actually find it irresistible—quick charging and all this great things—but it surely requires a special manufacturing course of.
Mass-scale manufacturing of solid-state batteries isn’t there but. We’re in all probability the primary one working with Nissan to carry these boundaries down, so we are able to mass-produce solid-state batteries by 2028. We begin by selecting the best chemistry for the specified efficiency metrics, including totally different supplies, totally different binders, to verify ionic connectivity is there, as a result of that’s actually probably the most key aspect for solid-state batteries. Then we now have to consider how we are able to mass-produce them, and obtain the throughput we need to have. So it’s a really massive, advanced joint growth effort. We’ve been working with Nissan for nearly two and a half years. Now we’re scaling up.
Charged: Your course of reduces prices, reduces complexity, and improves sustainability since you’re eliminating the poisonous solvents. You additionally declare to ship efficiency enhancements—larger vitality density and energy density. Inform us extra about that.
Richard Qiu: In our course of, we don’t use poisonous options in drying out. Usually, with the moist course of, whenever you dry an answer out, you are taking issues out. For us, as a result of we begin out with the blending expertise activation, we are able to stretch supplies, virtually like cotton sweet.
Initially after we thought of this, we thought of shrinking the footprint of producing, lowering complexity, principally from a price and pace perspective. However in consequence, as a result of there’s no poisonous answer drying out and we put the binder activation in that manner, all these issues really make the supplies stronger. To not get into materials science too deeply, however all these issues end in stronger binding, so it creates higher density and higher ionic connectivity.
Now, we don’t actually discuss an excessive amount of in regards to the efficiency enchancment, as a result of right now the trade is absolutely targeted on price discount. However we really obtain each.
We don’t actually discuss an excessive amount of in regards to the efficiency enchancment, as a result of right now the trade is absolutely targeted on price discount. However we really obtain each.
Charged: Inform us extra about recycling. You’re in a position to recycle all of the scrap from the method. Is that one thing that different processes aren’t in a position to do?
Richard Qiu: In the event you don’t use freestanding movie, it is going to be actually exhausting to recycle as a result of as you produce the electrode, you laminate different supplies to the electrode materials. To recycle, it’s a must to peel these different layers again. Individuals do recycle, but it surely takes one other funding, one other set of advanced tools to strip the supplies again and recycle. And usually you received’t be capable of recycle all of them. However for us, the freestanding movie earlier than densification is sort of just like the uncooked materials, so you possibly can ship 100% again to the feedstock. We don’t say 100% as a result of individuals make arguments—we usually say 98 or 99%. In order that’s one key piece.
The opposite piece is that whenever you produce the freestanding movie at excessive pace, usually the sting isn’t all straight and it’s a must to reduce the sting. That’s a part of the manufacturing course of—you’re reducing the sting to be sure you have the best width for the appliance, and the fabric you’re reducing off goes again to the feedstock.
Charged: You might have some opponents on this area. AM Batteries makes tools for the dry coating course of, and Tesla has been engaged on dry coating tech.
Richard Qiu: In 2019 Tesla purchased an organization known as Maxwell Applied sciences. The founding workforce of LiCAP was really the founding workforce of Maxwell. Maxwell was making dry electrodes for ultracapacitors, however Tesla purchased Maxwell as a result of they had been fascinated with adapting that expertise to supply batteries. I believe they’re efficiently doing that for anode manufacturing, rather less for cathode manufacturing. Tesla is absolutely, actually good on the mechanical facet as a result of they’re a automotive producer, however rather less when it comes to the way you combine the chemistry, course of and tools collectively.
I imagine we’re forward of all this competitors, in one of the best place to capitalize on this chance available in the market. In the event you produce movie at high-speed throughput—60 meters or 80 meters per minute—the movie high quality must be actually robust, due to the strain adjustment and different issues. And due to that, most individuals take into consideration the method from the mechanical perspective, however they usually neglect that it’s a must to have the best supplies, right combination, proper movie, proper binder, proper activation, so the fabric may be stretched quick sufficient, however robust sufficient to supply the freestanding movie.
I believe that’s a very key piece for our expertise. We’ve an built-in course of—it’s not simply fascinated with the mechanical a part of producing movie, but in addition the entrance finish, the blending. Plenty of corporations speaking to us have mentioned we now have one of the best mixing expertise, arms down, within the trade.
Are you able to reproduce a machine? You in all probability can if you’re a very good tools producer, however you even have to consider the chemistry, the supplies, the additive, components, mixing, all that stuff, and that’s a special animal. Our workforce is a mix of fabric science, chemistry and mechanical tools guys, and we work along with an built-in method, a really cross-functional workforce. Most corporations on the market, they deal with one, perhaps two of those items, however we deal with all three collectively, and that’s distinctive.
This text first appeared in Difficulty 74: October-December 2025 – Subscribe now.
