Manz AG, GROB-WERKE GmbH & Co.KG, and Durr AG have formed a strategic partnership for the joint acquisition and execution of projects for equipping entire battery factories. Their aim is to take advantage of the huge growth potential for business involving production technology for lithium-ion batteries, and to cover the entire value chain. The most important trigger for the rapidly growing demand for battery production technology is electromobility.

The more electric cars come onto roads, the more high-quality and high-performance batteries are required. This is why several battery and automotive producers are currently investing in battery factories or have announced plans to this effect. At present, there is not yet enough production capacity in Europe to meet this growing demand.

Under their partnership, the companies are planning to join forces and establish themselves as a European systems provider of battery production plants. They will thus offer customers a powerful alternative to existing suppliers, who are mostly based in Asia. The three companies want to set innovative machine standards "made in Europe".

Access to the market and to customers will thus be combined and technical expertise will be pooled. The partnership's particular target market is the automotive sector. Combining their complementary skills will enable the cooperation partners to offer automotive customers the entire value chain in lithium-ion battery production from a single European source, and to support them in meeting the significant increase in demand for high-quality and high-performance batteries in Europe.

Furthermore, the companies are targeting projects in the field of stationary storage units and consumer electronics. A global high-tech mechanical engineering company, Manz AG brings its development skills to the partnership. In addition, it provides extensive experience in key production stages for both the manufacture of different lithium-ion cell types and their assembly into a battery module.

They range from wound button cells and prismatic cells through to stacked pouch cells. For more than 95 years, GROB has been a trendsetting pioneer in the construction of production and automation systems. It boasts strength of implementation in the conception, planning, and commissioning of highly complex and customer-specific plants for large-scale production, especially for the automotive industry, with a strong emphasis on e-mobility, focusing on e-drives and battery technology.