Press report Schwäbische Zeitung | Press report Südwest-Presse
Innovative cooling and clamping technology from Ehingen inspires the battery industry
ZELL Group presents the world's first water-cooled clamping cage for battery cell production at international trade fair - Great interest from industry
Ehingen/Stuttgart - The ZELL Group from Ehingen is currently causing a stir in the industry with a globally innovative solution for the automated production of prismatic battery cells.
For many years, the ZELL Group has been developing and supplying workpiece carrier systems made of metal and plastic, also in combination, for fixing precise and sensitive workpieces. These systems allow components to be transported, cleaned and hardened precisely and gently. ZELL systems are even used in battery production at TESLA in the USA
The newly developed water-cooled clamping cages have a closed water circuit between the individual battery cells. At the same time, the holders for the battery cells are movable and can be tensioned with any required force. At the moment, only air-cooled transport systems are used on the world market, but these consume large production areas and more energy, or have longer production times.
There are two important production steps in the manufacture of battery cells. The so-called forming phase, in which the cells are charged, and the aging phase, in which the cells harden.
The special feature of this innovation is that the ZELL Group's water-cooled system allows the battery cells to be cooled to a precise temperature during the forming phase and heated during the aging phase. This not only ensures greater dimensional stability and better physical properties of the cells, but also enables customers to design much more compact systems. The space required in production and the production time are reduced considerably.
The innovation was presented at the renowned Battery Show in Stuttgart - with resounding success.
"Compared to conventional air-cooled processes, our solution saves valuable space and increases product quality at the same time," explains Managing Director Michele Farruggio, who is delighted with the strong interest shown at the trade fair. Companies such as Bosch, Mercedes, VW, Thyssen Krupp and System Electronics were impressed and have already made concrete inquiries. International competitors from China were also impressed by the innovation and reported on it in a television interview."
Patents for the new system had already been registered worldwide before the trade fair. Shortly afterwards, it celebrated its world premiere at the trade fair in Stuttgart - a real highlight not only for the ZELL Group, but also for Ehingen as a business location. "We develop and manufacture everything here on site," says Farruggio. "From Ehingen, we deliver our products all over the world."
The ZELL Group is thus once again sending out a strong signal for technological innovation and regional production with international appeal.
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