is aiming to commercialise what’s been described as a game-changing battery-making technology by 2028, opening a path for the Korean cell manufacturer to become more competitive with Chinese rivals.are working on dry-coating technology, a process that aims to replace the energy-intensive wet process for making cathode and anode electrodes — a key component of electric car batteries.
With dry coating, battery makers can save on energy, equipment costs and space. They don’t have to invest in drying ovens or solvent recovery systems. Volkswagen, which is also trying to develop dry coating at its in-house battery company, PowerCo, has called the technology a “gamechanger” because it could enable companies to use 30% less energy and 50% less space.LG is betting on a leapfrog innovation like dry coating to bolster its efforts to compete with Chinese battery makers.
The dry electrode manufacturing process that LG is developing can be applied to both cathodes and anodes, regardless of the size of the cathode particles, Kim said. Applying dry electrode manufacturing to cathodes with smaller size particles is very challenging, he added. For equipment makers, the push for more efficient battery-manufacturing processes represents an opportunity.