On the way to mass production of the super battery

Solid-state batteries are seen as the great hope for electric mobility. With a range of over 1,000 kilometres, short charging times and a service life of up to 500,000 kilometres, lithium-ion batteries with solid electrolytes promise to usher in a new era. Mercedes-Benz is one of the first to road test the solid-state battery.

However, industrial production is a major challenge due to the complexity of manufacturing processes, which differ from those of the earlier lithium-ion batteries.

Swiss research and innovation centre CSEM (see profile here) is launching Switzerland's first dry room for battery development at its Battery Innovation Hub, which means that the industrial production of this new generation of batteries will soon become a reality.

CSEM's special dry room will become operational in September 2025. It will have an extremely low dew point of - 50°C, which is ideal for processing moisture-sensitive materials such as lithium. The 37 m2 dry room will include a pilot production line for assembling pouch cells, which are the batteries found in smartphones and electric vehicles.

The low humidity means that new materials and manufacturing processes can be tested and quickly optimised under realistic conditions. The drying room, with its pilot production line, can also be used to develop battery prototypes in industrial formats and capacities.

Almost a third of the space in the dry room will be dedicated to start-ups and SMEs, helping them to reduce the risk and costs associated with building their own research infrastructure. This will enable them to develop their technologies under realistic conditions and transfer them to production more quickly.