Process and product innovation in electric mobility enabled by photonics
Laser-based manufacturing processes enabling the use of sustainable materials and recycling of battery systems as well as flexible manufacturing of electronics
Lasers provide flexible manipulation of energy input for material transformation in a digital manner. The advent of electrification in mobility embedded these technologies in critical components such as the drive train and the energy storage systems. Lasers offer more solutions for this emerging industry, where process and product innovation is often achievable through well-known and novel ways of interaction between material and light. At Politecnico di Milano, laser based-manufacturing tools are exploited for next-generation of electric mobility with a wide range of applications from biodegradable batteries to material recovery systems and flexible electronics.
-
Additively manufactured zinc anodes with controlled porosity can provide a sustainable route for long-term energy storage systems. Specimen dimensions are 9 mm × 15 mm × 0.4 mm (Source: PoliMi) -
Hybrid use of a robotic laser system for welding and dismantling of battery packs – the laser beam used for welding can be exploited for remote separation of the battery pack enclosure with limited damage on the underlying cells (Source: PoliMi)
The electrification of mobility poses challenges and opportunities to the vehicle manufacturers. Laser based manufacturing processes have been widely adopted in key products of the electric vehicles (EVs). Powertrain and energy storage systems already exploit laser cutting, welding, heat treatment, and surface structuring processes. Some of the key applications of laser-based manufacturing processes are welding of hairpins and stator laminates of the electric drives, electrode structuring, cutting, and welding in Li-ion batteries, as well as the production of the battery packs using the combination of these processes.
The electric vehicle industry is now looking into robust solutions exploiting the digital tool combined with monitoring solutions and artificial intelligence. The electric mobility in the meanwhile also calls for new solutions for problems that still require attention that ranges from increased range of vehicles, use of environmentally sustainable solutions as well as a view towards the end-of-life of these products. Photonic solutions based on lasers, optical measurement, and monitoring devices from this perspective can play a key role in product and process innovation.
Read the interactive issue in the Adobe Cloud, or download the single-article PDF – Ali Gökhan Demir (Politecnico di Milano): Process and product innovation in electric mobility enabled by photonics, PhotonicsViews 22 (D1), April 2025, pp. 12–16
