🔋 Comau and Intecells Revolutionize Battery Production: Plasma Technology Takes the Stage! 🚀

[Ahmet Ö.]

⚡️ Cold Plasma Solution for Fast and Energy-Efficient Production​

Comau and Intecells introduced an industrial roll-to-roll surface treatment process for battery cell production at the Battery Show North America in Detroit. This innovative system, utilizing Intecells' proven cold plasma technology, accelerates key steps in battery manufacturing and enhances energy efficiency.

🤝 Collaboration and the Power of Technology​

Following Comau's investment in Intecells in 2025, the two companies combined atmospheric plasma technology with gigafactory-scale automation. This partnership aims to reduce capital expenditures and increase production efficiency for battery and energy storage applications. Furthermore, the integration of this technology into other industrial sectors is also being explored.

🔬 Benefits of Cold Plasma Surface Treatment​

• Cold plasma applied to battery electrodes and separators accelerates and homogenizes electrolyte wetting and penetration.
  
• Significantly shortens electrolyte filling, aging, and drying times.
  
• Reduces overall energy consumption by decreasing thermal requirements.
  
• Shrinks required factory space and lowers costs.
  
• Directly improves battery performance by reducing the internal resistance of the cells.
  

According to Dr. Xiaohong Gayden, Founder and CEO of Intecells, meeting the increasing energy demands of AI data centers and global mobility requires pushing battery production beyond traditional improvements.

🧪 Flexible Cell Formation and Testing​

Comau also showcased a semi-automated cell formation and testing center recently delivered for the National Institute of Chemistry (NIC) at the event. Designed for scalability, this platform supports various formats (pouch, cylindrical, and prismatic) from laboratory prototypes to high-performance automotive and industrial cells. Equipped with dedicated formation chambers and environmental testing stations, this facility serves academic and industrial users across Europe.

Comau will also exhibit its extensive portfolio of battery production, recycling, and e-drive automation technologies at the Battery Show India in October 2026.

💧 Overcoming the Electrolyte Wetting Bottleneck​

In lithium-ion battery production, electrolyte filling and the subsequent aging process represent one of the most significant production bottlenecks. Electrodes and porous polymer separators are often hydrophobic (liquid-repelling) or have low surface energy. This forces manufacturers to store newly assembled cells in large, climate-controlled aging racks for days or weeks. This is to ensure the liquid electrolyte fully penetrates the micropores. If wetting is insufficient, the cell experiences high internal resistance, localized lithium plating, and degradation in cycle life. Atmospheric cold plasma treatment solves this problem by bombarding the roll-to-roll web with ionized gas. This alters the surface chemistry at the nanometer scale, making the materials highly hydrophilic (liquid-attracting). Thus, the electrolyte instantly and homogeneously penetrates the electrode matrix, significantly shortening aging times and eliminating the need for large, energy-intensive aging depots in modern gigafactories.