High-tech company
Trumpf is boosting efficiency in all areas of electric car battery production and at
Battery Show Europe 2025 held in Stuttgart earlier this month, the company showcased the entire laser process chain for battery manufacturing. Johannes Bührle, responsible for global battery projects at Trumpf, said: “Lasers play a crucial role in electromobility. Trumpf offers laser applications for the entire battery production process chain, as well as for the production of electric motors and high-performance electronics for electric cars – we cover the entire spectrum.”
Laser technology is an essential ingredient of battery manufacturing and together with its customers, Trumpf develops customised solutions for production at its laser application centres around the world to ensure greater efficiency and productivity. In electrode production, for example, the laser cuts and welds the electrode foils with precision. In cell assembly, the laser ensures maximum quality and yield, especially when joining different material connections of current carrying components. In the production of battery modules and packs, the laser is the decisive tool for creating fast, strong, as well as repeatable connections between the busbars, which is crucial for a safe and stable battery.
Lasers also enable users to reliably weld cooling plates for electric car batteries in series production in a gas-tight manner. This can only be achieved on an industrial scale with beam shaping technology such as Trumpf’s Multifocus. By sending the laser light through a so-called multicore fibre and then focusing it onto a patented arrangement of multiple focal points via an optical element, this beam shaping technology prevents pores and small holes that would have a fatal impact on the function of the cooling plates.
Multifocus technology divides the laser beam into an outer ring and an inner core. This makes it possible to distribute the laser power very precisely. Users can weld stainless steel and aluminum cooling plates at high speeds with this technology. Mr Bührle added: “Our customers benefit from guaranteed tightness, increased production efficiency, and precise welding results.”
Furthermore, batteries that have reached the end of their life cycle or are defective can be dismantled using laser processes so that the valuable components and materials can be recycled and recovered. The laser precisely cuts open battery housings and selectively removes adhesive surfaces. In addition, laser-based removal of coatings enables efficient processing of waste from electrode production in order to recover valuable materials such as lithium, cobalt, and graphite. Mr Bührle concluded: “These technologies contribute to more sustainable battery production.”