Dürr presented its latest innovation in simultaneous two-sided coating technology for the battery manufacturing industry. The new GigaCoater, designed for battery cell OEMs, combines wider substrate capabilities with faster coating speeds, promising significant manufacturing cost reductions while maintaining automotive-grade quality across widths up to 1,200 mm.

Demonstration GigaCoater.

The GigaCoater features a straight-path product flow with two coating stations combined in a single location, complemented by a non-contact flotation drying system. This streamlined configuration results in a more compact manufacturing footprint, reduces energy consumption, and eliminates edge curl after drying.

he innovative coating process uses a slot-die against a backing roll, followed by a tensioned-web-over-slot-die (TWOSD), enabling simultaneous two-sided coating of the foil in a single pass. The air flotation dryer ensures even, non-contact drying on both sides, further improving electrode quality.

The simplified layout of the GigaCoater results in substantial operational cost savings. These savings come from reduced energy consumption thanks to the single-dryer system, reduced coil handling, fewer personnel needs thanks to the one-level design, lower material waste, and a smaller space requirement. Together, these efficiencies offer enormous annual savings.

In addition to cost savings, the GigaCoater enhances product quality by eliminating edge curl, ensuring uniform drying on both sides, and improving top-to-bottom alignment.

With the GigaCoater, Dürr expands its portfolio of simultaneous two-sided coating machines, which previously consisted of the PilotCoater and ProCoater. The PilotCoater which can handle foils up to 350mm with coating speeds of up to 10 meters/minute, making it ideal for production, as well as ongoing process and product development.

The ProCoater, a larger-scale coating line, accommodates web widths from 350 to 700mm and coating speeds up to 50 m/min, supporting large-scale lithium-ion battery production. Both products are already in use by leading battery manufacturers worldwide.