Comparative analysis of 6-axis and gantry robots for prismatic battery cells handling in Northvolt Ett gigafactory

Transition towards renewable energy is one of the biggest themes of the 21st century, as nations strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change, while ensuring access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy for everyone. Meeting the increasing demand for electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and electrified industrial equipment poses a significant challenge in the energy transition. Scaling up battery production is vital to overcome this obstacle and pave the way for a low-carbon future. Northvolt, a Swedish battery manufacturing company, is at the forefront of efforts to improve battery production and meet the demand for green, highquality batteries. The thesis dealt with the necessity of improving the future battery factories focusing on a critical topic as it is the prismatic cells transfer between different processes inside Formation & Ageing site at Northvolt Ett. Ensuring accurate and efficient transfer of cells is essential to reaching high production volumes and to address this challenge this research evaluated two different options for cells transfer in future Northvolt battery factories. The study began by reviewing the contract between Northvolt and the supplier to extract useful data about Formation & Ageing 1 robotic arms. To validate the accuracy of the data, on-site tests and interviews with stakeholders were conducted, which expanded the findings of the contract review. In addition, the thesis also analyzed the contract between Northvolt and the supplier for FA2 to gather data on gantry robots. The study gave to Northvolt the possibility to gain a global view of the case and take data driven decisions on the type of equipment to use in future factories, based on projects’ priorities. This will support Northvolt in achieving its goal of producing high-quality batteries at scale and contribute to the global transition towards renewable energy.