Join Forces for Your Future Solutions
Our unwavering commitment is to pave the way for a future that is not just secure but brimming with innovation. Alongside the perpetual refinement of our product line, our relentless focus lies in pioneering new solutions that redefine the norm. Collaborating closely with our clients, and where necessary, forging partnerships with leading research institutions, universities, and specialized industrial pioneers, we're driving the innovation agenda forward.
Explore below to witness the fruits of our global collaborations, shaping tomorrow's landscape today.
VDMA Battery
The VDMA Battery Production Working Group focusses on innovation and the exchange of information on the topic of battery production in Germany. The working group brings together various companies, from SMEs to large corporations, that are active along the battery value chain.
In the VDMA industry guide (vdma-industryguide.com), companies can be specifically categorised into the respective production steps of battery production and contacts can be established.
Since 2020, BST has also been represented on the board by Klaus Hamacher (New Business Development) and is actively shaping the future direction of the battery production working group.
R-Cycle
By automatically recording all relevant properties of plastic along the value chain, R-Cycle enables data-based management of material flows for more efficient production, improved waste sorting and higher-quality recyclates. R-Cycle thus paves the way for plastic products in a functioning circular economy.
Leading global companies and organisations along the entire plastics value chain rely on R-Cycle as a solution for digital product passports. Together with our partners in various projects and applications as well as the members of the R-Cycle community, we are driving the establishment of R-Cycle on the basis of international GS1 standards.
UPCELL ALLIANCE
The UPCELL ALLIANCE pursues the ambitious goal of creating a leading European ecosystem for the development and production of electric batteries. This initiative aims to secure Europe's leading position in this sector, strengthen industrial independence and consolidate the continent's economic sovereignty. Within this alliance, leading European industrial and research players are united to establish a pioneering role in the electric battery value chain and to be recognised as the leading source and reference for electric battery producers in Europe by 2030.
In this pioneering cooperation, BST, as an established specialist in web guiding technology and quality assurance systems, is making a significant contribution to realising the goals of the UPCELL ALLIANCE. With its expertise and innovative solutions, BST supports the development and optimisation of production technologies for electric batteries in order to significantly improve efficiency, quality, performance and safety in this forward-looking industry.
Fraunhofer Research Institute FFB
In the InQuBator project, BST is collaborating with the Fraunhofer FFB & IPT to demonstrate an approach for the position-accurate allocation of quality features and process parameters using the example of a coating and drying system.
This can serve as the basis for aggregating the data required for effective battery cell production and enables traceability.
Fraunhofer Research Institute IEM
Project: MLPrintInspect
The aim was to develop a method based on machine learning/AI to improve the classification of printing defects.
For this purpose, defect images from the 100 % print inspection system IPQ were collected and classified into customer-specific defect types.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The ProMoBat project at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology focuses on the digitalisation of battery production and the life cycle of the battery cell. The aim is to optimise overall equipment effectiveness and make cell stack formation more flexible by means of networked process models with in-depth consideration of interaction effects between the process steps of calendering and stack formation. A first pilot system for cell assembly called "Exinos" was presented on the stand of partner company Siemens at the Hannover Messe 2023.
BST is supporting the project with web guiding & winder controls and cell measurement systems. The project was launched in 2021 and is planned over a period of three years.
NAATBatt International
BST North America is a member of NAATBatt International. This is the trade association for advanced battery technology in North America. It is a source of news and information about the innovations and developments, product releases, raw material availability and pricing, and governmental regulations. The organization sponsors numerous meetings and webinars throughout the year.
PEM - RWTH Aachen University
The Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) of RWTH Aachen University was founded in 2014 by Professor Achim Kampker. In numerous research groups, PEM is dedicated to all aspects of the development, production and recycling of battery systems and their components as well as fuel cells and the production of the electric drivetrain and entire vehicle concepts. In the Electric Mobility Laboratory (eLab) on RWTH Aachen Campus, the institute has its own infrastructure that covers the entire battery cycle, from production and testing to the dismantling of battery packs.
PEM and BST have collaborated extensively in the past, including working with VDMA on Battery Production guides and recording a joint episode of the institute's podcast with Klaus Hamacher of BST New Business Development: Battery Production & Inline Process Control - Episode 11 - Klaus Hamacher - YouTube.
TU Braunschweig
In Li battery production, electrolyte filling of the cell stack is a time-consuming process and has so far been carried out discontinuously. In the project, electrolyte filling and other processing steps are to be carried out as a continuous process and thus accelerated. Optical and X-ray-based inspection systems ensure the necessary quality inline.
In the DuLiPro project, BST is collaborating with Technische Universität Braunschweig on the development of a positioning system for deep-drawn pouch bags and an optical inspection system for the sealed seam for high process accuracy and highly efficient quality ensurance during the sealing process.
Inometa
BST and the renowned roller manufacturer Inometa are pooling their technical expertise in a cooperation with the common goal of merging their respective core competences - web guiding and the manufacture of deflection rollers - into a high-performance unit and thus creating the best possible conditions for battery and fuel cell production in particular. - With the joint development of deflection rollers that are specially tailored to the high requirements of battery and fuel cell production, BST and Inometa will perfect the precision and quality of web guiding systems in the industry and thus generate real added value for manufacturers.
By working together with Inometa, we are not only strengthening our position as a technology leader, but also offering our customers customised web guiding solutions for the challenges of the battery industry - setting the optimal conditions for hundreds of thousands of first-class end products.