Flexible Product Architecture and Production Process of Lithium-Ion Battery Modules

摘要

The vehicle drive train electrification constitutes a fundamental change of the automotive sector and poses severe challenges for established companies. Particularly the introduction of the entirely novel lithium-ion battery raises a multitude of uncertainties regarding the optimization of existing product architectures and production processes. Today, a variety of electric vehicles are manufactured in small quantities. Varying vehicle-sided requirements and constraints including power- or energy demand as well as installation space specifications and both geometric and chemical battery cell preconditions lead to a wide variety of battery modules. Said actualities require organizations to economically produce battery modules at low quantities and high variance. Disadvantageously, neither recent product architectures, nor existing production processes meet these requirements. This essay will describe the state of the art of both the product architecture and the production process of battery modules comprising prismatic battery cells. Subsequently, the aftermaths of initial product alterations on the product-production-system are elucidated. Based on this analysis implications for a more sustainable value chain by remanufacturing are presented.