Altech – Excellent Progress on ABS60 60kWh Cerenergy® Battery Prototypes

Altech Batteries Limited (Altech/the Company) (ASX: ATC and FRA: A3Y) is providing an update on the advancement of its ABS60 60 kWh CERENERGY® battery prototypes.

Highlights

• Excellent progress with two 60 kWh battery pack prototypes
• Pilot plant re-design at Fraunhofer IKTS Hermsdorf for prototype manufacture
• All prototype materials have been procured from suppliers
• Ceramic tube manufacture is 50% complete
• Cell assembly progressing well with more than half completed
• Low reject and defect rates experienced
• Two battery vacuum casings delivered and undergoing heat loss testing
• Finalisation of prototypes will be mid 2024

The manufacturing of two such batteries dedicated to customer performance testing commenced last year. Altech’s joint venture partner, German government owned Fraunhofer IKTS, had initially developed battery packs with capacities of 5 kWh and 10 kWh units. However, with the establishment of the joint venture with Altech, a significant upgrade was undertaken, resulting in the transformation of the battery pack into a substantial 60 kWh unit specifically designed for the grid storage market. Production of two of these substantial 60 kWh battery packs was initiated for the purpose of conducting performance tests and qualifying them for customer use.

The pilot line at Fraunhofer IKTS, situated in Hermsdorf, Germany, has undergone a comprehensive redesign to facilitate the manufacturing of 60 kWh battery prototypes. Innovative tools and machinery have been developed and implemented specifically for producing the battery cells required for the 60 kWh prototypes. The battery pack is composed of 240 CERENERGY® cells, each rated at 2.5 V. These cells are organised in 4 rows, each comprising 12 cells, and stacked 5 modules high. The dimensional specifications of the battery packs are 2.6 meters in height, 0.4 meters in length, and 1.0 meter in width. Ensuring adherence to the Ingress Protection (IP) 65 standard, the packs are designed to be dust and weatherproof, reflecting high levels of sealing effectiveness for electrical enclosures.

All prototype materials have now been procured from specific suppliers. The crucial stages in cell production involve blending ceramic components, high-pressure pressing, tube formation, and ultimately sintering at 1,600 degrees celsius over a span of several days. Fraunhofer IKTS’ Hermsdorf pilot plant facility successfully navigated the entire ceramic tube production, with half of the required tubes now manufactured. The battery cathode electrolyte, comprising sodium chloride and nickel powder granules, was produced using the mixing and pelletising equipment at the Hermsdorf pilot plant. The process of cell assembly, encompassing vacuum filling, heating, and welding, is ongoing, resulting in the completion of approximately half of the cells. To facilitate the infiltration of cathode material into multiple battery cells simultaneously, a vacuum chamber was developed. Promising pass results were obtained from laser welding tests on the battery cells conducted at Precitec GmbH & Co. KG

Figure 2 – Production of battery cells at Fraunhofer IKTS Hermsdorf pilot plant facility

In order to confirm the precise alignment of all components following the welding closure of each prototype cell, a thorough examination is conducted using an industrial micro computed tomography (µCT) scanning system. This ensures the verification of filling height, composition, alignment, and the behavior of cathode material post cell initialisation. Upon successful completion of the µCT quality assurance, individual cells undergo charge and discharge performance tests, all of which have demonstrated satisfactory and as expected results thus far. As of now, fifty percent of the necessary cells have been successfully produced, showcasing excellent progress. Reject or defect rates have been low and with expected limits.

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