Battery materials production is one of the newest process industries in the UK and one of the least standardised. Much of the plant being built has no established UK design precedent, the supply chain is drawn from sectors with very different engineering cultures, and the regulatory position is assembled from general process manufacturing law rather than anything battery-specific.

Projex Solutions provides engineering design, process safety studies and project delivery for battery materials production, cathode and anode processing, electrolyte handling and associated electro-chemical operations.

A note on the regulatory position

There is no dedicated UK battery manufacturing regulation. What applies is the standard process manufacturing framework: COMAH 2015 where dangerous substance thresholds are crossed, DSEAR 2002 for flammable solvents and combustible dusts, the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (as amended), and PSSR 2000 for pressure systems. The EU Battery Regulation applies in Northern Ireland but not in Great Britain, and UK rules in this area continue to develop.

We say this plainly because the alternative, implying a settled specialist regime exists, would not serve anyone designing a plant.

What makes this work different

NMP and solvent recovery dominate the design. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone use in cathode slurry preparation brings a substantial solvent inventory, a recovery and purification duty, and emissions that fall within environmental permitting. Solvent recovery is frequently the largest single piece of process plant on the site.

Dry rooms are a demanding utility problem. Electrode handling requires very low dew points across large volumes. The HVAC and desiccant plant is a major capital and energy item, and it is often specified before anyone has modelled the moisture load properly.

Powder handling brings dust explosion risk. Active material powders, conductive carbon and binder handling all present combustible dust hazards requiring zoning under DSEAR and explosion protection design.

Thermal runaway. Formation, ageing and testing of cells introduces a hazard with very different characteristics from conventional chemical fire, including gas evolution, propagation between cells and difficulty of extinguishment. Fire strategy has to be designed for it specifically.

Materials of construction matter more than usual. Electrolytes and precursor chemistries are corrosive and moisture-sensitive, and material selection errors surface late and expensively.

Where we help

  • HAZOP and HAZID facilitation on plant with limited design precedent
  • DSEAR assessment and hazardous area classification for solvent and dust, to BS EN IEC 60079-10-1:2021
  • Dust explosion protection design for powder handling, covering venting, suppression and isolation
  • Solvent recovery system design, including emissions and permit implications
  • Dry room and HVAC design, sized against a modelled moisture load
  • Materials of construction assessment for electrolyte and precursor service
  • Fire strategy input for cell formation, ageing and storage areas
  • Feasibility and FEED studies with stated estimate accuracy, detailed multi-discipline design, and EPCM delivery under ISO 9001:2015

Typical reasons clients get in touch

  • A new facility needs front-end engineering with no in-house precedent to draw on
  • Solvent recovery capacity or emissions performance is constraining production
  • Dry room performance is not meeting the process requirement
  • Powder handling has not been assessed for dust explosion risk
  • Fire strategy for cell storage and formation needs to be developed with an insurer
  • A pilot line has to be scaled to commercial production

Related

Part of our work across the chemical sector and the energy sector.

Standards and regulations we work to

  • COMAH 2015, where dangerous substance thresholds are crossed
  • DSEAR 2002, with ACOP L138 (second edition, 2013)
  • BS EN IEC 60079-10-1:2021 for solvent vapour, and BS EN 60079-10-2 for dust
  • PSSR 2000, with guidance L122 (2014)
  • COSHH 2002, with ACOP L5 (sixth edition, 2013)
  • Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (as amended), for solvent emissions and effluent
  • BS EN 61511-1:2017+A1:2017 where safety instrumented functions are required
  • CDM 2015 and ISO 9001:2015

Frequently asked questions

Is there a battery-specific UK regulatory regime we should be designing to?
Not at present. What applies is the general process manufacturing framework above. We would rather tell you that plainly than imply a specialist regime exists, because designing to an imagined standard is worse than designing to the real one.

Why is solvent recovery such a large part of the design?
NMP use in cathode slurry preparation creates a substantial solvent inventory that has to be recovered and purified rather than emitted. On many sites the recovery plant is the largest single process unit, and it is frequently the constraint on production rate.

How should dry room capacity be established?
From a modelled moisture load, covering air infiltration, material ingress and personnel. Dry rooms specified before that modelling is done are commonly either undersized or extremely expensive to run.

Does thermal runaway change the fire strategy?
Substantially. Cell fires evolve gas, propagate between cells and are difficult to extinguish with conventional means, so formation, ageing and storage areas need a strategy developed for that behaviour, usually in dialogue with the insurer.

Talk to us about your facility. Request a call