The goal is as clear as it is ambitious: Even if Mercedes does not want to manufacture the battery cells itself, but rather have them produced by partners, the traditional company from Baden-Württemberg aims to understand everything down to the smallest detail that goes on in the energy storage systems that are the electrical ones Cars with the star will be supplied with electricity in the future. In other words: The company not only wants to optimize the correct composition of the chemical components inside the battery cells, but also the production of them. And that’s exactly what the car manufacturer’s employees will be researching from now on on the e-campus that Mercedes opened on Monday at its headquarters in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim. “The cell manufacturing process has a very, very big influence on the performance of the battery,” Mercedes Research Director Markus Schäfer told the F.A.Z. “We therefore not only have to master the design and chemistry of the cell, but also the know-how of industrial production. This is where the question of cost is decided – this is where the wheat is separated from the chaff.” New chemical combinations and optimized manufacturing processes are expected to reduce battery costs by more than 30 percent in the next few years.New battery center at a historic locationThe new battery center is at the site Untertürkheim was founded, where Mercedes began producing crankshafts and camshafts in 1907 and has manufactured components for internal combustion engines ever since. Operations in the new plant, into which the company says it has invested a three-digit million sum, will begin in two stages. The 10,000 square meter area for the industrial production of battery cells has already started work on manufacturing and testing battery cells with different chemistries on an industrial scale. Tens of thousands of cells can be produced here every year for the development of future battery generations. A testing center with a start-up factory for process development is scheduled to be built by the end of the year. High-ranking visitor: Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Kretschmann (left), Economics Minister Habeck with Daimler boss Källenius (from right) dpa “We have the advantage here that we are in global contact with all relevant battery companies – and so the global knowledge at this location “We can collect everything together,” Schäfer continued, as he picked up a prismatic cell at the symbolic start of a new production line. Mercedes’ plan is for the E-Campus to develop the cells, which will then be produced by battery producers such as ACC, CATL or Farasis. In the further process, Mercedes assembles the cells into battery packs in its own factories such as the Hedelfingen or Brühl plants that belong to Untertürkheim. More on the topic “It is our aim to also take on a technologically leading role in electric driving,” said Mercedes boss Ola Källenius. This all happens against the background of a big goal. “Mercedes is strategically focusing on zero emissions, with this factory we are creating the conditions to become fully electric.” Even if the customer is still hesitant at the moment. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) thanked Mercedes for taking on the challenge of electromobility. “It is of central importance that Germany and Europe build up their own capacities and know-how in this key technology.” But in addition to thanking him, he also addressed his words to himself and his fellow politicians. “We now have to arrange the market conditions so that the companies’ plans can succeed.”
Go to Source