BREYER has supplied the calendering technology for V4Smart, the Porsche-VARTA joint venture producing cylindrical lithium-ion cells in Germany for high-performance applications including sports cars and hybrids.
Calendering is one of the key steps in electrode manufacturing: after the slurry is coated and dried, the electrode passes through precision rollers that compress it to a controlled thickness and density. That step has a big influence on porosity, adhesion, energy density and consistency from cell to cell. In other words, if you want high-performance cells, the calender isn’t just another machine on the line—it’s one of the places where performance gets locked in.
BREYER says its calendering lines are designed to deliver the dimensional accuracy needed for consistent cell performance while minimizing scrap, and have been integrated into V4Smart’s highly automated, digitized production environment at sites in Ellwangen and Nördlingen.
The setup has a plant-wide track-and-trace system. Every individual battery cell is digitally tracked through all production steps via a higher-level control system, with manufacturing data continuously recorded, expanded and passed to the next step. That kind of traceability matters in performance-oriented cell production, where tight batch control is essential.
Source: BREYER / V4Smart