LG Energy Solution adapts complete inspection including battery module

LG Energy Solution had adopted a complete inspection process that includes battery modules for the first time to increase the reliability and safety of its batteries, TheElec has learned.

The new system had been applied to its factory in Wroclaw, Poland during the second quarter. The factory manufactures batteries for Volkswagen’s MEB platform.

LG Energy Solution previously conducted sample testing instead, meaning that it would test out samples of the battery that has finished being made.

The new system, also called initial life cycle inspection, retests everything of a battery module that had been already conducted during the battery cell’s production, from charging, discharging, voltage, current and exterior visual inspection.

Battery is made into cells, then packaged as modules, then packaged as packs.

Certain batteries, such as cylinder and prismatic batteries, are shipped as cells to car makers that package them themselves. 

LG Energy Solution, for its pouch batteries, mostly packages them as modules before it ships them.

The company’s new system at Wroclaw is thought to have cost millions of dollars to apply and will increase the amount of time to make products but is also expected to increase the quality and reliability of the batteries.

Conventionally, in battery production, mixing and assembling takes about a week on average and the back-end process of the assembled product which includes testing takes about two weeks.