Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) have announced a partnership with Cellforce Group, which is a joint venture between Porsche and CUSTOMCELLS, to develop exclusive sustainable battery cell solutions to better serve the electric vehicle (EV) mobility segment. PPG will supply cathode binder systems, which are free of N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP) solvent, to the Cellforce Group.
The collaboration would eliminate the use of NMP in producing the conductive-carbon slurry that forms cathodes for Li-ion batteries. NMP, which is widely used in electrode manufacturing, has been identified as a reproductive hazard by several global regulatory agencies. It was recently identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an unreasonable risk to workers in certain conditions.
Markus Vogt, PPG general manager of mobility, said: “PPG is eager to partner with the Cellforce Group to build the next generation of battery cell technology that will define a new level of sustainability for the electro-mobility segment.
“Additionally, the partnership enables collaboration to provide critical technology development to increase cell performance and safety.”
PPG is helping vehicle, battery and component manufacturers accelerate the development of tomorrow’s automotive energy storage solutions. The company’s broad-based materials expertise covers virtually every area of Li-ion battery design and construction.
This includes helping customers boost energy density, extend service life, improve safety, increase manufacturing throughput and reduce cost per kilowatt-hour.
PPG provides differentiated solutions for automotive electro-mobility, such as sustainable binder solutions for the battery cell and coating solutions for the battery pack. These include battery fire protection, anti-corrosion coatings for battery packs/trays, dielectric shielding and thermally conductive materials.