ARMOR BATTERY FILMS starts up its new factory
October 10, 2024
Twenty months after work began on its new factory, ARMOR BATTERY FILMS began moving its teams in September 2024.
This was accompanied by the start-up of its equipment dedicated to the production of En’ Safe coated current collectors, key battery components. With these new facilities, ARMOR BATTERY FILMS is increasing its production capacity fivefold, while preparing for the future in a rapidly expanding global battery market.
With the recent relocation of R&D staff at the beginning of September 2024, the ARMOR BATTERY FILMS teams are gradually moving into the brand new industrial site at La Chevrolière, a few kilometres from Nantes. Dedicated to the production of coated current collectors, the 8,000m2 building is designed to operate 24/7 and includes an ink formulation workshop, three coating and cutting workshops and a large storage warehouse.
More specifically, the entire 1st floor is dedicated to R&D activities, with three laboratories, including an anhydrous room. These areas are used for developing formulations, assembling and testing batteries (buttons and pouches). Initially, the new site will house two production lines, but the building has been designed to accommodate a third, a project already planned for 2026/2028.
The first of the three production lines has been fully operational since the autumn, following a successful qualification phase with customers.
Pierre Guichard, RDI & Industrial Manager at ARMOR BATTERY FILMS, explained: ‘We have reached a crucial stage with the qualification by our customers of our products from the new line. This phase enables us to guarantee our ability to achieve the quality standards they demand. What’s more, the machines installed on the new site will not only enable us to increase our production capacity, but also to offer new product specifications – wider widths and continuous and intermittent patterns – that meet the expectations of our battery manufacturer customers.”
The En’Safe current collectors developed by ARMOR BATTERY FILMS respond to today’s challenges of optimising resources and represent a major technological advance for the battery industry. These solutions offer essential benefits to manufacturers, such as improved electrode adhesion, corrosion protection, increased energy density and better battery capacity retention. All of these benefits are designed to improve battery safety and extend battery life by up to 20%. En’Safe current collectors therefore promote more rational use of resources, responding to today’s economic and ecological challenges.
Thierry Dagron, Marketing and Business Development Director, added: ‘We are proud to offer solutions that not only optimise battery performance, but also improve the efficiency of the resources used. With En’Safe, we’re doing more with less – an essential approach in today’s environment.”
The size of the lithium-ion battery market reached $4 billion (€3.66 billion) in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 11% from 2024 to 2032. What is more, this type of battery has become a key pillar of the energy industry, accounting for 57% of the global rechargeable battery market today, compared with just 13% in 2014.
By positioning itself in growth sectors such as energy storage systems (ESS), electric buses and data centres, and thanks to a network of North American, European and Asian customers, the Nantes-based manufacturer is establishing itself as the essential Western alternative to Asian manufacturers of coated current collectors.
Thierry Dagron concluded: ‘The battery market is seeing the emergence of new technologies, based on both electro-chemistry (LFP, sodium-ion) and manufacturing processes such as dry-coating, for which our products are perfectly suited. We are extremely confident about the future. The lithium-ion battery market continues to grow at a sustained rate, with considerable development prospects. As the only Western alternative, we are more than ready to play a major role in this rapidly expanding market!”
Categories : Around the Industry
Tags : ARMOR Group Batteries Expansion Growth New Factory R&D
