MI-CURE: Microwave and Inductive CURing of battery Electrodes

Important results from the project

The overall objective of the project was “to investigate alternative, potentially more energy efficient, higher quality, lower cost, lower production footprint technologies for the production of electric vehicle batteries, based on microwave and inductive drying techniques.” During the project, the above technologies were investigated to shorten the drying time of battery electrode materials. The results showed a good improvement in drying efficiency and support Northvolt’s process development.

Expected long term effects

The project has provided additional knowledge for microwave and induction drying/curing methods. This knowledge will be useful for other areas, such as the manufacture of printed electronics and semiconductors. During the project, RISE gained in-depth knowledge in battery materials, electrode manufacturing and industrial processes. The project has also established a good foundation for an even stronger collaboration between RISE & Northvolt, and other organizations, for future collaboration.

Approach and implementation

The project was carried out with close discussion between the partners with weekly follow-ups. A design of experiments, DOE, was created to carry out the experimental tasks. We found proper suppliers for microwave and induction drying systems, which meet the specifications set by Northvolt. After some pre-tests, we decided to rent microwave VFM-system from LAMBDA from South Korea. The induction system was purchased from Himmelwerk from Germany.