The German companies Manz, Grob-Werke and Dürr have entered into a strategic cooperation for the joint acquisition and processing of projects to equip complete battery factories.
According to a statement distributed by Manz, the declared goal is to exploit the growth potential in the business with production technology for lithium-ion batteries, especially in the field of e-mobility, and to cover the entire value chain. As part of the partnership, the southern German companies plan to jointly establish themselves as a European system provider of battery production equipment and offer customers a high-performance alternative to the equipment suppliers that have so far mostly come from Asia.
Manz is known in the battery industry for its cell contacting systems, among other things, but is also active beyond this and has experience in key production steps for manufacturing different lithium-ion cell types and assembling them into a battery module. Manz develops innovative battery technologies and the associated production processes for its shareholder Daimler Truck. Grob-Werke, as a manufacturer of battery production and automation systems, is also already active in battery production, but the production facilities are also used in other eMobility areas. And the plant manufacturer Dürr is very well known in the automotive industry with its production systems. Dürr also has expertise in the field of electrode production and in other production steps in cell and module assembly.
For the announced battery factories in Europe of various cell manufacturers and carmakers, the three companies want to “set innovative machine standards ‘made in Europe’”, according to their own statements. The combination of their complementary capabilities enables the cooperation partners to offer their customers in the automotive industry the entire value chain from a European source in the field of Li-ion battery production and to support them in meeting the significantly growing demand for high-quality and high-performance batteries in Europe, according to the statement. In addition to automotive customers, the company is also considering projects in the stationary storage and consumer electronics sectors.
Manz is also a partner in the Gigagreen consortium announced this week. The EU project, which has now been launched, aims to develop sustainable processes for the production of lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles. 16 partners from eight European countries are working in the course of the project to create the “gigafactory of the future”. The Gigagreen consortium will work together for four years, during which time it will receive nearly €4.7 million in EU funding.
“We see fantastic opportunities to benefit from the dynamic development of electromobility, so we have focused our business model accordingly,” says Martin Drasch, CEO of Manz AG. “We firmly believe that, based on the trendsetting alliance with GROB and DÜRR — an alliance that is unique in Europe — we have reached another important milestone toward fully harnessing the huge market potential.”
German Wankmiller, CEO of the Grob Group, added: “We are delighted to be cooperating with Manz and Dürr, two such well-respected partners. GROB is a family-owned company that has gained comprehensive knowledge of machines, system technology, and process flows for the entire e-mobility portfolio in a very short space of time. It has now become world market leader in the manufacture of production systems for electric drives. Furthermore, in the field of battery storage technology with a focus on systems engineering, we have developed process knowledge for battery module and pack systems with pouch and hard-case cells, and we have already delivered several large-scale plants.”
“Battery production is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the European industry landscape. The rapid building of production capacity is a prerequisite for European automotive manufacturers to maintain their leading market positions in the age of electromobility,” says Dürr CEO Jochen Weyrauch. “Our customers want reliable, local partners to implement their battery factories. We are taking on this challenge and are joining forces.”
Keyword: Manz, Grob-Werke and Dürr launch joint battery cooperation