Woowon Technology developed a new equipment that can stack the cathode, anode and separator for prismatic batteries in 0.3 seconds, the company said on Monday.
The previous fastest stacking equipment was those for pouch batteries which performed the task in 0.35 seconds.
Woowon Technology said its equipment is an in-line kit that handles both notching and stacking. Its development was completed early in the year and the company filed related patents, it said.
The equipment automatically moves the magazine formed during notching to the stacking process, which is still mostly done by humans.
The speed of the stacking process has improved every year in the industry. For Woowon Technology, it marked 1.2 seconds in 2012 but reduced this to 0.6 seconds in 2017. In 2021, it hit 0.5 seconds. The anode and cathode materials are dropped vertically and tilted while the separator is added. SK On has been its key customer.
Woowon Technology said it applied a brand new technique instead of tilting for its latest stacking equipment. It uses a brand new apparatus, the company added.
Woowon Technology is part of Samsung SDI’s V Project where the battery maker is aiming to increase the productivity and efficiency of its battery production.
The new stacking equipment is being used in Samsung SDI’s production line in Ulsan for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries aimed at energy storage systems.
