Blackstone Resources has set up a production line for 3D printed batteries. The short-term production will be pouch cells, which should enable a 20 percent higher density in lithium-ion cells. At a press day, the company has now announced a few more details about its innovative idea.
According to Blackstone, the manufacturing process offers numerous advantages compared to conventional methods: The 3D printing process allows thicker energy-storing layers in the battery cells, which increases the gravimetric energy density by 20 percent. In addition, battery cells from Blackstone are flexibly adjustable in size and can be precisely tailored to a wide range of customer needs, such as those of automotive companies.
According to the company, the space saved by the batteries is 15 percent and the material savings are 20 euros per kWh. At the same time, energy consumption in production is reduced by 23 percent. “The process relies on an environmentally friendly, purely water-based process and reduces waste by 50 percent. In doing so, we are making an important and sustainable contribution to the turnaround in transport and in the fight against climate change,” explains Ulrich Ernst, CEO and founder of Blackstone Resources.
Blackstone detailed their LFP cells announced in February at the event. With cathode material from IBU-Tec from Weimar, LFP cells are now being manufactured in DObeln, where the company has created a good 40 jobs, with Blackstone Thick Layer Technology, which is intended to enable higher energy density. Specifically, Blackstone announced 220 Wh/kg here. For comparison: The Chinese manufacturer BYD achieves 166 Wh/kg at cell level with its blade cells, which are considered technologically advanced LFP cells.
Blackstone is now starting with LFP and NMC cells, but the technology will be applicable to all cell chemistries. In the future, the company also wants to print solid-state batteries – with the solid-state technology, the energy density should be able to be increased by a remarkable up to 70 percent.
The next step is the development of a battery system with the partner Ecovolta, which primarily produces batteries for electric commercial vehicles. And a project to equip electric buses with 3D battery technology is planned with Voith SE and Orten Electric Trucks. Talks are also already underway with LioVolt about the joint production of a bipolar battery. These are lithium-ion batteries consisting of stacked and series-connected electrodes that are designed to be bipolar.
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Blackstone, didn’t Merz work there?? Oh no, that was BlackRock. Why not print battery cells, you can also print cakes in them? I mean, this information is the same and interchangeable, it only gets interesting when the first mass-produced vehicle with such a battery comes onto the market.
Then you can see what the car can do with it and as a result you have a good look at the technology compared to the competition or the predecessor. A look at the past is sobering, only the VW e-up saw a significant evolution through new battery technology when a battery that was exactly twice the size was created in the same space.
The question: How fast is 3D battery printing?
Space, material and energy savings with rechargeable batteries are all well and good, but only if the 3D printer does not “tinker around” with a battery for hours, otherwise it would only be for small series.