Product novelty 19. September 2023

Sales of electric vehicles are increasing sharply throughout the world. The recycling of high-performance batteries to recover the valuable chemical components as part of a sustainable circular economy is thus a key issue. At Motek 2023, Bosch Rexroth will present the first industrial automation solution for the success-critical step of deep discharging. Thanks to the new system, a process that used to take 24 hours now takes less than 15 minutes.

As part of a process patented by Bosch Rexroth, the automation solution takes over the innovative deep discharging of the high-performance battery cells prior to subsequent process steps. Only fully discharged batteries can be safely shredded and then broken down into their chemical components.

The TS 5 transfer system from Bosch Rexroth transports battery cells of different sizes and types from various manufacturers between the diagnostic discharging and dismantling stations. After contacting, a modular solution from the automation toolkit ctrlX AUTOMATION toolkit with the control platform ctrlX CORE and the drive system ctrlX DRIVE discharges the battery cells in the discharging station. The discharging equipment automates the initial inspection, the patented deep discharging process with chemical inactivation and the final check. Compared to the previous manual discharging process which took 24 hours, the automated process takes less than 15 minutes and is thus 100 times faster than before. At the same time, it offers optimum protection for workers and significantly reduces the fire risk later on.

Link to the complete press information: https://www.boschrexroth.com/en/de/company/press/battery-recycling-17216.html