The Industrial Science Report: Battery, supply chain, and power generation innovations strengthen an energy-secure future

Study focuses on safety and sustainability in battery cell manufacturing machine design

Battery demand is accelerating faster than the current market supply. There’s added pressure on battery cell manufacturing equipment to balance production with increasingly strict environmental standards and worker safety requirements. This study proposes a quantitative framework that embeds safety and sustainability into the earliest stages of battery manufacturing machine design. For maintenance and reliability engineers, it points toward battery manufacturing equipment that is safer to service, less energy-intensive to operate, and more stable over its lifecycle.

This research article published in Nature presents a framework for integrating safety and sustainability criteria into the early design stages of battery cell manufacturing machinery. It outlines a quantitative approach to align equipment design with environmental and occupational standards, and the study provides metrics and decision tools for engineers to evaluate manufacturing machinery alternatives based on safety risk, ergonomic factors, energy consumption, and material sustainability. By applying these criteria early in the design process, manufacturers can reduce hazardous exposures, improve operational efficiency, and the lower lifecycle environmental impacts of complex automated systems. The approach supports data-driven decision-making in machine design, with potential to enhance long-term equipment reliability and safety compliance for advanced manufacturing operations. While specifically focused on battery manufacturing machinery, the researchers’ methodology has implications for similar semiconductor equipment design processes where safety and environmental impacts are critical. Study authors are from Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), FOM Technologies, NETZSCH Feinmahltechnik, RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY, and Electromobility Research Center (MOBI).

Korea Institute of Energy Research creates rope-like battery electrode in faster, more environmentally safe process

Battery production has improved significantly in the last decade. Our devices hold a charge much longer than they used to, and the prevalence of electric vehicles has grown. Yet, in order to meet rising demand for electrification, there is still significant progress to be made in battery cell technology. Researchers like those at the Korea Institute of Energy Research are advancing battery manufacturing processes and their environmental impact with an electrode made with less energy and less hazardous materials. The rope structure also makes the internal reactions more uniform and improves battery performance. For reliability engineers, stronger electrode structures could translate into longer service life and more predictable degradation behavior in battery-powered systems.

Researchers at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) have developed a dual-fiber dry electrode technology that weaves battery electrodes with fibers into a rope-like structure to improve durability and performance. The innovation overcomes the limitations of conventional electrode manufacturing by enhancing mechanical integrity without liquid binders, which can simplify production and reduce drying energy needs. Traditional wet processes use a binder dissolved in a solvent as an adhesive, but the process relies on toxic organic solvents, and the drying time is very long. The dry process does not use solvents, which allows for faster processing and reduces environmental impact. It could streamline electrode fabrication, lower manufacturing costs, and improve lifecycle performance in energy storage systems. It also contributes to cleaner, scalable electrode processing that may benefit adjacent electronics manufacturing segments that integrate advanced battery systems.

DOE $134M rare earth element supply chain funding to boost domestic materials manufacturing

To support electrification and battery storage, rare earth elements are essential for everything from electric motors and generators to semiconductors and data center infrastructure. Much of the supply chain is concentrated overseas, but the U.S. Department of Energy is investing $134 million to boost domestic recovery and processing from unconventional sources like mine tailings, e-waste, and other unwanted materials and byproducts.

For maintenance and reliability teams, a stronger domestic REE supply chain could mean shorter lead times on components and fewer disruptions from geopolitical risks. For manufacturers already grappling with energy risk and materials volatility, this investment signals a strategic shift toward building a more durable U.S. supply chain.

The U.S. Department of Energy will invest up to $134 million to enhance domestic rare earth element (REE) supply chains and demonstrate the commercial viability of recovering and refining REEs from unconventional sources such as mine tailings and electronic waste. This initiative targets the reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign rare earth sources and aims to support advanced manufacturing sectors that rely on high-performance magnets and critical materials. Projects selected will focus on full-scale extraction and separation technologies that recover REEs like praseodymium, neodymium, terbium, and dysprosium, which are essential to electric motors, power generation, and defense systems. By strengthening domestic REE processing capacity, DOE expects to improve national security resilience and competitiveness in energy and manufacturing supply chains. 

University-led deployment of KRONOS MMR™ microreactor advances nuclear energy research for manufacturing and industrial power

Clean energy goals and power scarcity concerns are driving renewed interest in nuclear energy. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is deploying a micro modular reactor, pairing advanced reactor technology with research, regulatory coordination, and operational oversight to explore long-term asset ownership for nuclear reactors. This high-temperature, helium-cooled modular system is designed to scale for industrial or civil applications while supporting zero-carbon energy targets. By moving nuclear power from concept to real-world operation, the project will explore how on-site nuclear power could become a core part of energy planning for energy-intensive manufacturing.

NANO Nuclear Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the board of trustees of the University of Illinois on behalf of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.) to develop, construct, and operate a KRONOS MMR™ micro modular reactor, the first on U.S. university land. The partnership extends a prior research collaboration into a full construction and operation phase and will establish joint project and operations steering committees to manage technical coordination, safety compliance, scheduling, and long-term planning. U. of I. will support regulatory permitting with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and engagement with the U.S. Department of Energy on fuel procurement. Upon completion, U. of I. will assume ownership and operational responsibility, collecting performance data to enhance research and educational programs and support Illinois’ zero-carbon energy transition. NANO Nuclear will collect high-resolution performance and systems-level data to guide reactor optimization and inform design refinement for future deployment scenarios. The KRONOS MMR™ system, a high-temperature, helium-cooled reactor using TRISO particle fuel, is designed for modular deployment and is scalable to large industrial or civil power needs. 

Korean researchers are building advanced materials for fusion power plant “first wall” development

Current energy demands may necessitate a new kind of energy source. Enter fusion power. Fusion energy promises near-limitless, carbon-free power, but only if the infrastructure can survive extreme heat and neutron bombardment. The DINERWA project is tackling this challenge by developing “first wall” materials using oxide dispersion-strengthened steels, copper-based high-temperature materials, nanostructured tungsten, high-entropy alloys, and new fabrication techniques. These strong materials make up the reactor and wall that contains the reaction safely and efficiently.

As Dr. Carsten Bonnekoh of Karlsruher Institut für Technologie explains, “The lifetime-limiting aspects of a first wall depend highly on the type of power plant, i.e., inertial fusion or magnetic confinement.” Inertial fusion can be challenging to the plasma-facing surface of the first wall from shock waves and heat spikes. Neutron damage to the first wall is more a concern with magnetic fusion. “After a specific neutron dose the failure mode in structural materials changes to fast (brittle) fracture,” Bonnekoh explains.

Inertial fusion uses high-power lasers or ion beams to compress a small fuel capsule, creating an implosion. Magnet fusion uses powerful, large-scale magnetic fields to contain and burn low-density plasma for long periods.

Senior Experiment Scientist at Focused Energy Wolfgang Theobald says: “The challenge is to find materials that are durable under the thermo-mechanical stresses. In addition, the implantation of high energy ions (mainly hydrogen and helium ions) from the fusion reactions can lead to blistering and delamination of the skin layer material.”

While fusion energy is still emerging, the lessons in designing components for such punishing conditions could also benefit high-temperature tooling, advanced heat exchangers, and other critical systems in energy-intensive industries. Future maintenance and reliability engineers may one day service fusion plants and these extreme-environment components.

The DINERWA project, led by Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) in collaboration with industry partners, is developing advanced structural and functional materials and manufacturing processes for the “first wall” of future nuclear fusion power plants. This first wall and its components must shield against the hot plasma and must endure extreme temperatures and neutron bombardment. The research focuses on novel oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steel alloys, copper-based materials, nanostructured tungsten, and high-entropy alloys engineered to improve longevity under reactor-like conditions. The consortium is also innovating production and joining techniques to assemble complex multilayer modules for this critical protective barrier and plans to test full components at KIT’s HELOKA (Helium Loop Karlsruhe) facility under high heat flux conditions. Industrial partners include Focused Energy, CEP Freiberg, Hermle Maschinenbau GmbH, and Zoz GmbH, and research contributions are coming from GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, and SCK CEN in Belgium.