Altech to make its CERENERGY battery in Germany

Altech Batteries is rapidly progressing plans to manufacture in Germany its CERENERGY battery developed in joint venture with Germany’s Fraunhofer IKTS institute.

Key workshops were held in May at the Fraunhofer ceramics research institute facilities in Dresden to finalise the plant’s design and select key suppliers.

Altech Managing Director Iggy Tan said: “The level of excellence exhibited by the German plant unit suppliers we have brought together is truly remarkable.

“The possess extensive expertise in manufacturing plants that prioritise automation and robotics as essential components of the design.

“Our objective is to manufacture battery cells from the ground up, encompassing the production of ceramic solid-state tubes, full cell assembly and conducting quality and battery performance checks at a rate of one every 45 seconds.”

The Altech-Fraunhofer joint venture is developing a 100 MWh Sodium Chloride Solid State (SCSS) battery plant on Altech’s land in Saxony, Germany, producing a novel new battery focused on the stationary or grid energy storage market.

Their CERENERGY battteries are fire and explosion proof, have a life span of 15 years and can operate in extremely cold and hot climates.

Manufactured without expensive lithium, graphite, copper or cobalt, CEREMERGY batteries should be 40 percent cheaper than typical lithium-ion batteries.

Key suppliers include:

• Riedhammer GmbH will provide a tunnel kiln for sintering ceramic tubes at the heart of the battery design
• Fritz Automation GmbH will supply the cell assembly plant including electrode assembly
• Konig Metall GmbH will supply insulated battery packs
• And IAV GmbH Ingenieuresellschaft Auto und Verkehr will supply battery control systems.

Tan said: “We have made substantial progress in our design endeavours and are currently transitioning towards obtaining the final cost estimates for the plant.

“Given our exclusive rights to this technology, all our design efforts will pave the way for our future success.”

Images: Altech/ceramic mixing equipment/the CERENERGY battery plant