Accelerating Battery Production Scale-Up by 2x with Siemens, AWS, and Voltaiq
The realm of battery manufacturing has never been easy, but the trends of our modern world are not helping make that less true. With pressures to grow rapidly while simultaneously removing inefficiencies, waste and scrapped batches, experience alone is not an option for finding success in the shifting battery industry. Adopting data-driven manufacturing is the key to successful battery businesses now and into the future. As part of Battery Show Europe, our Head of Battery Industry at Siemens Digital Industries Software Puneet Sinha say down with his counterparts at AWS and Voltaiq to talk about how companies can implement data-driven manufacturing.
The first part of their discussion was covered in episode 15 of the Battery Podcast, including a summary. But for the second half, where they talk to integrating a data driven approach in operations you can hit play below to listen to the episode. For a quick summary of the major points, scroll a little further to keep reading.
Data-driven manufacturing is not just about integrating the processes withing manufacturing, or even those within design. It is about removing the artificial siloes between these domains. When designing the winding operation, for instance, it might be easy to understand that too loose results in a bad wind and too tight can break the foil. But there is not a single solution to this design challenge. A designer needs to understand the manufacturing step in the context of the planned factory environment – what machines are being used, the environmental conditions of the factory, and the specific material properties of the foil to name a few. With these types of inputs, businesses can run a virtual factory in the digital twin to iterate faster than ever before, guiding improvements with the data collected in the simulation environment and even in the real world. Data-driven manufacturing starts with the digital twin and IT-OT integration.
But not everything can be caught prior to manufacturing the first cell, with scrap rates being a big challenge to long-term profitability. Customers often face challenges in decreasing scrap rates beyond a certain threshold. Data driven manufacturing helps here as well by the combined analysis of existing formation data and upstream process steps. A company working with Voltaiq and their manufacturing models was able to identify cell defects earlier and pinpoint the root cause of moisture-related issues. By catching these faulty cells before lengthy steps at the end of manufacturing, they were able to increase effective capacity and reduce the scrap rate of cells reaching the end of the manufacturing process.
The partnership of Siemens, Voltaiq, and AWS is for our customers, to offer them a complete solution to their challenges. Siemens provides the connections of manufacturing equipment, the digital world, and operational expectations. And Voltaiq brings unparalleled expertise in the specifics of the battery manufacturing process. AWS provides the tools to scale these learnings efficiently and securely. Battery manufacturers will be pulling data and sending it out across the supplier network and even sharing some under battery passport regulations. By using secure digital infrastructure with AWS, companies can ensure proper data transparency, even when their operations span the globe.
Synergy is a cliché in the world of business, but every cliché has a grain of truth. By partnering with two great businesses, Siemens is working to make data-driven manufacturing a promising reality for the world of battery production. To learn more about the partnership, be sure to listen to parts one and two of this discussion. And if you are here because you already have done so, you can explore our site siemens.com/battery to learn even more about the wider world of battery design and manufacturing.
Siemens Digital Industries (DI) is a leading innovator in automation and digitalization. In close cooperation with its partners and customers, DI is the driving force for the digital transformation in the process and manufacturing industries. With its Digital Enterprise portfolio, Siemens provides companies of all sizes with all the necessary products, along with consistent solutions and services for the integration and digitalization of the entire value chain. Optimized for the specific requirements of individual industries, this unique portfolio enables customers to enhance their productivity and flexibility. DI continuously extends its portfolio to include innovations and the integration of future-oriented technologies. Siemens Digital Industries, with its headquarters in Nuremberg, has a workforce of around 72,000 people worldwide.
For more information on Siemens Digital Industries products and services, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
