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A*STAR unveiled an Electric Vehicle Battery Testing and Disassembly Line that revolutionised battery circularity with advanced digital solutions, prioritising sustainability and safety. This forward-thinking project, located within ASTAR’s Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC), is designed to tackle the growing concern of retired electric vehicles (EVs) batteries, which are expected to accumulate in the wake of electrification.
These retired batteries, if not managed sustainably, can pose threats to both human health and the environment. However, they also represent a valuable resource for recycling and repurposing, making their efficient disassembly a key focus for ASTAR.
One of the primary challenges in the disassembly of EV batteries is that it’s a labour-intensive and potentially hazardous process; and manual disassembly can take hours, with numerous modules that need to be further disassembled into individual cells.
To address these challenges, A*STAR’s ARTC is harnessing the power of Industry 4.0 technologies. The Electric Vehicle Battery Testing and Disassembly Line leverages automation, robotics, intelligent vision inspections, and diagnostics to significantly improve the efficiency and safety of the disassembly process.
With the help of digital technology, tasks such as visual inspection and unbolting of fasteners are automated, reducing human exposure to high-voltage situations and speeding up the disassembly process by an estimated 50%.
Further, the line incorporates digital solutions to enhance the measurement of batteries’ State of Health (SOH), a critical indicator of a battery’s remaining useful life. Traditional SOH measurements often require a complete charge and discharge cycle that can take hours.
A*STAR’s ARTC has streamlined this process, allowing for quick SOH determination at the battery cell level in just 30 minutes. This efficiency level promises significant time savings and a more comprehensive understanding of a battery’s condition.
A key aspect of this initiative is the collaboration with private organisations, which has played a pivotal role in practical applications of Industry 4.0 technologies. Together, they aim to improve industry safety standards for handling high-voltage battery packs, increase productivity in high-mix and low-volume scenarios, and standardise the handling of EV batteries. Among the technological solutions employed is augmented reality (AR), which guides employees step by step through testing and disassembly processes.
An energy management system optimises energy usage on the line, promoting sustainability, and a modular setup, supported by automated guided vehicles (AGVs), increases the line’s flexibility to adapt to changes in testing and disassembly needs.
The Electric Vehicle Battery Testing and Disassembly Line is a cutting-edge facility comprising three distinct stations and a real-time monitoring digital twin. Automation plays a pivotal role in reducing manual labour by unbolting battery packs and disconnecting wiring, aided by AR.
An automated system ensures efficient and safe transfer of battery modules. Module Discharging and Disassembly involves safety testing and discharging battery modules before disassembling them into individual cells, facilitated by an automated guided vehicle (AGV) system. The Rapid Cell Grading station incorporates smart tracking for waste monitoring and strives for net-zero emissions by closely monitoring carbon emissions across the line.
The Digital Twin of Line acts as a virtual counterpart to the physical line, enabling digitalisation and real-time monitoring of operations at various stages. It plays a multifaceted role in optimising the line’s layout and processes through physics-based modelling, contributing to the re-optimisation of line capacity for enhanced efficiency.
Additionally, it offers real-time visibility into operations, including monitoring energy consumption and assessing overall equipment effectiveness. This digital twin also plays a vital role in the planning and scheduling of tasks to ensure their timely completion, facilitating a streamlined and efficient operation of the Electric Vehicle Battery Testing and Disassembly Line.
