While concerns around the materials supply chain and the “valley of death” for new battery concepts are now well-established 5, 6, we highlight an equally important but less frequently discussed.
What challenges does battery production face?
The rise in battery production faces challenges from manufacturing complexity and sensitivity, causing safety and reliability issues. This Perspective discusses the challenges and opportunities for high-quality battery production at scale.
Are battery quality issues affecting the reliability of battery-powered devices?
Aside from headline-grabbing safety events, battery quality issues can have outsize impacts on the reliability of battery-powered devices (Fig. 1b). For instance, an EV pack typically consists of hundreds or thousands of cells arranged in series and in parallel, often combined into modules.
Is battery quality a determinant of battery failure?
In summary, both senses of battery quality (defectiveness and conformance) are critical determinants of battery failure and thus the financial success of cell and EV production endeavors. We revisit battery quality in the “Managing battery quality in production” section.
Battery manufacturers must not only deliver consistent overall quality, but they must also deliver it throughout the manufacturing process. Quality needs to be monitored at every stage from raw materials through to cell assembly to maintain production efficiency and minimize waste.
Under this definition, poor quality means that the as-built cells deviate substantially from their design. This definition of battery quality is more general since it can include dimensional specifications and electrochemical properties as well as the lack of physical defects. Poor conformance has a number of impacts on the final product.
Battery quality is among the most difficult issues facing the industry today due to the complexity of both battery failure and gigawatt-hour-scale battery production. Yet the human, environmental, financial, and reputational stakes are enormous. The challenge of battery quality deserves much more academic, industrial, and regulatory focus.