How fluor is making battery manufacturing more flexible and efficient.
With expertise across the battery value chain, Fluor has developed a unique solution for electrolyte feeding and distribution systems.
From runners to football players, athletes use electrolyte-filled sports drinks and powders as fuel during exercise. Electrolytes play a similarly critical role in fueling lithium-ion batteries, albeit with different ingredients. Fluor is helping battery manufacturers fill their batteries with electrolytes more flexibly and efficiently by designing and constructing electrolyte feeding and distribution systems that accommodate multiple types of electrolytes.
Fluor developed its unique system while working with a cutting-edge battery manufacturer on a large-scale European “gigafactory.” Project team members saw a gap in the market, with a need for flexible, efficient systems due to the skyrocketing demand for lithium-ion batteries. In fact, it is estimated that electric vehicles will account for more than 60% of vehicles sold globally by 2030.
Fluor brings expertise in every link of the lithium-ion battery value chain, which spans from raw material mining to chemical processing and manufacturing. Fluor is designing and building battery cell manufacturing facilities that can produce more than 30 GWh annually – enough to support 40,000 electric vehicles per year. In addition to design and construction, Fluor supports clients with the management of the complex battery cell supply chain, which can involve more than 20 materials and components.
Electrolytes, typically found in liquid or paste form, are just one component of that complex supply chain. They are vital to the battery’s performance, serving as a catalyst for the battery’s conductivity and supporting the lithium ions’ movement though the battery.
Electrolytes are injected, or fed, into the battery cells during the manufacturing process. The electrolyte feeding and distribution systems safely store the electrolytes in large tank farms before distributing them to the feeding equipment, where they are inserted into the battery cells.
Waste electrolytes are then transferred from the feeding equipment to waste tanks. Working in some of Europe’s major gigafactories, Fluor has designed electrolyte storage facilities with eight 25-cubic-meter tanks in minimum plot availability.
There are different electrolytes for different types of batteries, each with a distinctive recipe and process requirements. A design that supports multiple electrolyte types improves efficiency and shortens time to market. Clients can produce several types of battery cells, including cylindrical and prismatic, and flexibly shift between electrolyte types during production. Systems Fluor has developed are accommodating up to three types of electrolytes.
Safety is paramount in the design due to electrolytes’ properties. Extra measures to protect against product spills include double-walled, stainless-steel tanks and leakage detection systems. Extra-dry conditions are also critical, as any water inside the electrolytes can significantly reduce quality and pose safety risks.
Just like a professional athlete, lithium-ion batteries are achieving new levels of performance, and electrolytes are playing a key role in their success. Fluor is proud to offer expert engineering, procurement and construction solutions that enable battery manufacturers to produce these products more flexibly and efficiently.
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How Fluor is Making Battery Manufacturing More Flexible and Efficient, March 20, 2023
