Honeywell today announced the launch of the Battery Manufacturing Excellence Platform (Battery MXP), an AI-powered software solution designed to optimize Gigafactory operations from the start by increasing battery cell production and enabling manufacturers to accelerate facility start-up.

With traditional standalone solutions, battery manufacturers have feedstock scrap rates as high as 30 percent, even in a stable state, and even higher during the facility start-up phase, resulting in millions of dollars in wasted energy and materials. A gigafactory typically takes years to scale up to more efficient and profitable production.

PFSK151-3BSE018876R1-3BSC980006R358 The Battery Manufacturing Excellence Platform (Battery MXP) uses artificial intelligence technology in the manufacturing process to detect and correct materials before quality issues cause them to be scrapped. The solution uses machine learning to identify factors that contribute to quality issues and turns data into action-oriented insights that help manufacturers improve efficiency and productivity.

By providing powerful data that improves factory quality control and decision making, the Battery MXP Platform is designed to help manufacturers reduce production start-up times, reduce initial material scrap rates by 60 percent, and increase delivery rates to meet the growing market demand for lithium batteries.

“With Honeywell’s Battery Manufacturing excellence platform and its automation capabilities, we can lay the foundation for a gigafactory network more quickly and efficiently.” John Kem, president of American Battery Factory, said, “This solution is critical to our manufacturing operations, helping us reduce waste and rapidly scale, while at the same time increasing demand for high-quality lithium iron phosphate batteries in the U.S. and international markets is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. To make sure we can still meet market demand.”

By providing two-way traceability and pedigree, the Battery Manufacturing Excellence Platform (Battery MXP) tracks the battery from raw material to finished product in real time, helping to ensure product quality at every stage. The platform also helps solve other key challenges facing battery manufacturers by providing solutions for process control, people management, and thermal runaway of batteries. These safety elements help ensure the personal safety of gigafactory operators as well as battery end users.

PFSK151-3BSE018876R1-3BSC980006R358 “The electrification of everyday life is driving rising global demand for high-quality lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles, consumer electronics and battery energy storage systems.” Pramesh Maheshwari, president of Honeywell Process Controls, said, “With more than 400 megafactory planned worldwide by 2030, Honeywell’s Battery Manufacturing Excellence Platform is a key technology that helps manufacturers maximize battery production and reach peak production faster than traditional methods.”

Leveraging automation to drive global electrification aligns with Honeywell’s business restructuring around key trends such as automation and the energy transition. As a key player in the global energy transition, Honeywell is applying its complete portfolio of businesses in industrial automation, cybersecurity Internet of Things (IoT), material handling, building automation and security solutions to help battery manufacturers bring reliable products to market as quickly as possible to meet anticipated battery demand.