Novel Dry Coating Equipment with Controlled Environment for Cost- and Energy-Efficient High-Performance Battery Electrode Manufacturing

The Challenge

Battery electrode manufacturing relies on wet coating with toxic solvents, large drying ovens, and energy-intensive dry rooms — accounting for up to 43% of total cell factory energy consumption. For next-generation chemistries requiring dew points below −60°C, infrastructure costs rise exponentially. Existing dry electrode coating platforms eliminate solvents but still require a full dry room, preserving the very cost and energy burden they aim to reduce. DryShield resolves this gap by integrating a compact controlled atmosphere directly into the coating machine and connecting the full process flow in a closely-coupled energy-efficient system.

The Innovation

DryShield delivers a lab-scale roll-to-roll dry coating machine with a processing zone below 1% RH, achieved through a machine-integrated atmosphere module — not a facility-level dry room. A clustered airlock architecture enables future connection to adjacent deposition systems without atmospheric break. The machine also incorporates advanced calendering methods beyond conventional hydraulic pressing, addressing an unresolved bottleneck in dry electrode morphology control. No commercially available system currently combines these capabilities.

Impact & Valorisation

Developed by Dutch SME D&M Vacuumsystemen in partnership with TNO over 24 months, DryShield validates NMC cathode electrode performance on the machine platform. The system will be commercialised as a standalone R&D instrument for battery research groups and startups requiring controlled-atmosphere dry coating without dry room infrastructure. In the medium term it scales to pilot-line systems for cell producers. The project generates IP anchored in the Netherlands and strengthens Dutch capability in battery manufacturing equipment — a high-value segment with no current domestic equivalent.