Sometimes it can be an advantage to simply put the lid on. In an exclusive interview with Battery-News, Dr. Michael Hein, Head of Product Line Battery Components, explains how German company HOERBIGER supports the development of high-performance vehicle batteries and energy storage solutions with innovative cell covers and housings for prismatic battery cells.
Battery-News: Your company offers innovative solutions for battery electric drives and battery components. What new developments are you planning to set yourself apart from the competition?
Dr. Michael Hein: We are active in the field of cell housings and cell covers and are working on innovative solutions, such as electronics integrated into the cell cover. We are seeing a trend towards new materials and new designs – for example towards the sophisticated side terminal design, where the bursting membrane is often installed in the housing and where the safety issue is a major challenge. You can see that European manufacturers in particular have very high tolerance requirements that you donʼt necessarily see in Asia. We are also moving in the direction of smart-cell lids, which means that we are integrating electronics, including sensors and software, directly into the cell lid. Customers also benefit from this – whether later in the vehicle or during cell production and at battery pack level.
“Despite all the challenges: The opportunities and foreseeable growth in this market are huge.”
Battery-News: How do you assess your companyʼs role in the growing electric mobility sector, particularly with regard to the increasing demand for bias batteries and other electric drivetrains?
Hein: We are a traditional automotive supplier, we come from the field of transmission components and are the market leader in our specialist field of synchronization. A few years ago, we asked ourselves: “What do we want to do in the future? Where do we want to go?” We discovered the topic of cell housings and cell covers – mechanical components that we want to develop further with approaches in the area of manufacturing processes and with a view to the product and electronics in the form of our “smart housing.” Despite all the challenges: The opportunities and foreseeable growth in this market are huge, although of course we also have to keep an eye on the risks.
“When it comes to cell production, we are generally talking about extremely high quantities.”
Battery-News: Global demand in the broad field of rechargeable batteries and battery-related products is increasing significantly. How are you meeting the challenges posed by the inevitable increase in production capacities?
Hein: When we asked ourselves what we wanted to do in the future, we reflected on the expertise that already characterizes us. So we didnʼt start from scratch but already have some suitable production facilities at our plants in Germany and Poland. We also have a plant in China, where we can learn from the Asian market. When it comes to cell production, we are generally talking about extremely high quantities. This means that in order to be competitive on the European market, you need highly automated production processes, interlinked production lines and innovative process and product ideas, such as our smart cell lids. This is definitely still a challenge, but we have also achieved this in the area of transmission components.
Battery-News: What significance do safety solutions such as the explosion protection systems developed by HOERBIGER have for the integration of battery storage systems into industrial and urban infrastructure?
Hein: Of course, we recognize that safety is becoming an increasingly important issue, especially for high-performance cells. For example, it is becoming increasingly important to degas the cells in defined directions and time periods. It makes no difference whether the batteries are for stationary energy storage or for vehicles: The topic is essential for all applications, and we believe we are well equipped to deal with it.
“We prefer to focus on the opportunities.”
Battery-News: What issues in the battery world are you concerned about right now?
Hein: Probably the kind of news that have been circulating more and more recently: Plants for battery production in Europe are coming later – or they may not come at all. We are operating in a highly dynamic market here. On the one hand, this means a high level of risk, but on the other hand it also represents great chances – and we prefer to focus on the opportunities.
