UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BATTERY MANUFACTURING COURSE OUTLINE An instructional team composed of battery experts from industry and the University of Michigan teach this 4-day course. The program outline is listed below with a brief description of the topics and learning objectives that will be covered. The instructors are experts in the various aspects of battery manufacturing, with extensive real world expertise. We combine the classroom instruction with hands-on instruction in the Battery Lab at the University of Michigan. Dates: November 27 th November 30 th (9:00 am 4:30 pm) BATTERY MANUFACTURING COURSE OUTLINE Day 1: A description of the basic components of batteries and their key parameters that determine battery performance and safety followed by a more thorough explanation of battery electrochemistry. Introduction to Battery Design and Safety Instructor: Dr. Greg Less, Senior Laboratory Manager for the Battery Lab What are the key components of a battery? What is a good electrode design? Overview of active materials Overview of electrolyte systems How do you safely handle batteries in a prototyping environment? What are the variables that affect battery performance and safety? Afternoon session (1 pm 4.30 pm) Battery Electrochemistry Instructor: Prof. Bart Bartlett, University of Michigan Basics of electrochemistry
Day 2: A deeper dive into understanding anode and cathode slurry preparation and rheology testing. The hands on portion of the day will demonstrate the first step in the battery manufacturing process, battery slurry preparation. Mixing and Rheology Instructor: Dr. Bernhard Stalder, Senior Technologist Battery Solutions, Bühler AG Mixing and rheology testing of electrode slurries Wet grinding of LIB precursors and active materials Introduction to the various coating methods Afternoon hands on session (Dr. Greg Less, 1 pm 4 pm) Preparing battery slurry for anode and cathode Groups 1, 2, 3 - initial discussion of the mixer and the addition process o Demonstrate initial addition and dry mix 15 min Break out to different stations 45 min o Station 1 - Lab Coater, draw down, rheometer o Station 2 - Coin Cells o Station 3 Coater Groups 1, 2, 3 explanation of thick mix 15 min Rotate Stations 45 min Groups 1, 2, 3 - explanation of let down 15 min Rotate stations 45 min Day 3: We will cover the equipment and the procedures used to test batteries. We will discuss how to analyze test results. For the hands on portion of the day, we will be measuring the quality of the slurry started on day 1, and demonstrate the battery coating process. Overview of Battery Testing, Dr. Tal Sholklapper Review of major tester brands common test protocols In-depth analysis of test results. Cycling protocols, rate characterization, hybrid pulse power characterization, and impedance analysis Afternoon hands on session (Dr. Greg Less, 1 pm 4 pm) Coating & Calendaring
Group o Station 1: Coating quality, Calendering and Slitting 1.5 h Thickness Loading Dryness Cracking Alignment Over-Calendering Heated calendering o Station 2: Cell Assembly pouch cell - 1.5 h Students can run the pouch machines to make their own small pouch cell (no elyte) o Station 3: Break Day 4: On this final day, we will explore next generation battery chemistries, presented by University of Michigan Faculty. The hands on portion for the day will introduce you to the Solid State Battery Lab, the 18650 fabrication process, and preparing cells for cycling. Next generation battery chemistries Solid state batteries (Prof. Jeff Sakamoto) Metal-air batteries (Prof. Neil Dasgupta) Flow batteries (Prof. Levi Thompson) Afternoon hands on session (Dr. Greg Less, 1 pm 2.30 pm) Break out to different stations and rotate through at 30 min - Introduction to the Solid State Battery Lab - 18650 cell fabrication - Cycling room
INSTRUCTIONAL TEAM Dr. Greg Less, Senior Battery Manager, University of Michigan Battery Lab Greg Less is the Senior Laboratory Manager at the UMEI Battery Fabrication and Characterization User Facility, responsible for the day-to-day operation of the laboratory. Less received a doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining UMEI, he was a research scientist with battery companies T/J Technologies and A123 Systems. Prof. Bart Bartlett, Associate Professor of Chemistry Professor Bartlett s research interests are in inorganic materials, particularly investigating the correlation between atomic/molecular structure and electronic structure for the applications of photoanodes for solar water splitting and ion-insertion materials for electrical energy storage. Research in The Bartlett Group aims to exploit inorganic synthesis to control the composition and morphology of complex materials. Dr. Bernhard Stalder, Senior Technologist Battery Solutions, Bühler AG Master in chemical engineering (Swiss Institute of Technology [ETH], Zurich, Switzerland) PhD in mechanical process engineering (Swiss Institute of Technology [ETH], Zurich, Switzerland) Since 1993: Different functions in the business unit Grinding and Dispersion of Bühler AG, Uzwil, Switzerland (Project Manager, Manager Process Development, Manager Engineering, Manager Application Lab, Product Manager, Manager Technology, Market Segment Manager) Field of technical activities: Mixing and dispersing processes Wet milling processes Powder and liquid handling Dosing technologies Multifunctional continuous processes Pneumatic conveying Material sciences Safety at work Present activities for battery applications: Process development Customer trials Sales Presentations Commissioning Consulting
Dr. Tal Sholklapper, CEO and Co-Founder, Voltaiq. Inc. Dr. Tal Sholklapper is Voltaiq, Inc. CEO and Co-founder. Prior to founding Voltaiq, he worked as the lead engineer on a DOE ARPA-E funded project at the CUNY Energy Institute, developing an ultra low-cost grid-scale battery. Before joining CUNY, Dr. Sholklapper co-founded Point Source Power, a low cost fuel-cell startup based on technology he developed while at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley, where he also did his graduate work in Materials Science and Engineering. As a Materials Postdoctoral Fellow at LBNL, he successfully led the transfer of lab-scale technology to industry partners.
Brief presentations by: Prof. Jeff Sakamoto Jeffrey Sakamoto is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining UM, he was a faculty at Michigan State University for six years. Prior to that, he was a Senior Engineer at the California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 7 years. He earned his Ph. D. (2001) in Materials Science and Engineering from UCLA. The Sakamoto group studies materials and manufacturing processes to develop new energy storage and biomedical technologies. In the context of advanced solidstate batteries, the recent work demonstrates that deliberate and controlled creation of Li-ion vacancies, in garnet-based crystal structures, is key in demonstrating fast-ion conductivity at room temperature. This ceramic material conducts ions as fast as state-of-the-art liquid Li-ion electrolyte membranes, perhaps enabling advanced solid-state batteries. Prof. Neil Dasgupta The Dasgupta group performs research at the intersection of nanotechnology, energy science, and manufacturing. Their goal is to develop scalable, low-cost techniques for the synthesis and assembly of nanostructures to address complex energy-related environmental challenges. Example applications include solar photovoltaics, artificial photosynthesis, catalysts, and batteries. Their research is highly interdisciplinary, drawing from influences in mechanical engineering, materials science, electrical engineering, physics and chemistry. Prof. Levi Thompson Professor Thompson s research focuses on the design and development of high-performance catalytic, electrocatalytic and adsorbent materials, and defining relationships between the structure, composition and function of nanostructured catalytic and electrocatalytic materials.