ENLARGE
PEM Empowers Flexible, Connected and Adaptive Battery Production
In the ENLARGE project, the chair "Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components" (PEM) of RWTH Aachen University, together with several partners from industry and research, is dedicated to the standardized data exchange of networked production systems in battery manufacturing. The goal is to enable forward-looking digital solutions such as seamless traceability, modularization, digital twins, Battery Passports, and transferable AI applications.
Connecting and extending existing standards
The project addresses two main issues in the digitization of battery cell production. One is to create a map of relevant parameters and their characteristics to help companies and researchers identify critical features to build digital solutions. On the other hand, the problem of data consistency will be addressed, especially with regard to incompatible data descriptions and translation as well as transformation efforts. To this end, ENLARGE aims to create a "meta-standard" that combines and extends existing standards such as EPCIS & CBV, ISO/IEC 19987 & ISO/IEC 198988, and OPC UA with industry-specific "Companion Specifications" (CS). The goal is to support companies in integrating and networking their systems into existing structures and to enable cross-manufacturer value creation and a data-driven circular economy for batteries.
Validation based on traceability, Battery Passport and process optimization
The project validates the results based on three use cases along the battery value chain. The first one considers the traceability concept for cells and intermediates from electrode production onwards. Data from equipment and sensors are acquired and passed on to digital systems such as "Manufacturing Execution" systems (MES), database systems or Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platforms. The aggregation takes place in the traceability system itself, which must be able to understand and correctly process all the information. In the second use case, the Battery Passport is considered, which is located at a higher level in the abstraction of production IT than MES, IIoT, and traceability system. The challenge here is the aggregation of the information important for the Battery Passport at cloud level. To date, a large part of this information has to be laboriously compiled from different data sources. The use case therefore addresses the acceleration of integration and the creation of transferability by mapping the existing expert knowledge. The third use case, "Process Optimization," looks at plants. Through the identified parameters and their interrelationships, process data is used in electrode manufacturing to optimize a downstream process by suggesting adjustments to the plant parameters. Thus, it will be shown that the developments of optimization algorithms are accelerated and the algorithms are made transferable.
The project
- "ENLARGE: Interoperable production as an enabler for a data-driven battery value chain
Research objectives
- Enabling flexible, networked, and adaptive battery production
- Creation of a "meta standard" for uniform interfaces for data exchange
Research and project partners
PEM of RWTH Aachen University
Schuler Pressen GmbH
(Project coordinator)
FFT Produktionssysteme GmbH & Co. KG
European EPC Competence Center GmbH (EECC)
ELABO GmbH
Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V. (VDMA)
Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB
Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA)
wbk Institute of Production Science of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Siemens AG (associated partner)
SAUERESSIG Group (associated partner)
NanoFocus AG (associated partner)
SICK AG (associated partner)
Maschinenbau Kitz GmbH (associated partner)
Duration
- 05/01/2023 through 04/30/2026
Project management
Funding code
- 03XP0539A
Grantor