Current and future trends in lithium-ion battery electrode production machinery: A comprehensive review

In response to the rising energy demand due to global population growth, the consumption of non-renewable energy sources has also increased, bringing with it various environmental issues. To overcome these environmental challenges, the net-zero emissions by 2050 policy has been adopted and the focus shifted toward alternative and sustainable energy sources. Among the alternative energy sources, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) dominate the energy storage market and countries have made serious efforts to develop their LIB value chain. LIB machinery is one of the most important building blocks of the LIB value chain since it has a significant impact on product quality, energy consumption, cost-effectiveness, and factory efficiency. Especially, electrode fabrication equipment and methods directly affect the quality of the electrode from electrochemical, microstructural, and mechanical aspects, and thus the performance, reliability, and service life of the produced battery. Based on these considerations, this paper presents a comprehensive review of the machines used in the electrode production steps of LIBs. In this regard, the present review consists of two major sections. In the first section, electrode manufacturing processes, encompassing mixing, coating, drying, and calendering as well as their working principles, operating parameters, applications, and effects in the relevant production processes were elaborated. In addition, detailed equipment comparisons were conducted for each electrode fabrication step, including their advantages, disadvantages, maturity levels, and the production scales at which each machine is typically used. In the second main section, a future outlook on electrode production was provided, discussing the integration of digitalization, flexible manufacturing, academia-industry collaboration, and the adoption of sustainable and next-generation technologies such as dry manufacturing, highlighting potential directions for machinery development and the evolving needs of the LIB industry. This review aims to provide a valuable guide for researchers and industry professionals, covering both the evaluation of electrode manufacturing processes and equipment, and the future directions of battery production.