In its efforts to advance sustainable electric mobility solutions, Coma continues to participate in the European Union’s “Flex-BD” project and is developing a battery dismantling unit
From a circular economy perspective, Koma will test and validate the solution, taking the first step towards economical and efficient reuse of automotive batteries
Koma designed the unit to help handle low-charge batteries while minimizing risk to operators and equipment

For the second year in a row, Komar has reaffirmed its commitment to the European Union Flexible Battery Dismantling (Flex-BD) project, laying the foundation for a truly circular economy.

Flex-BD is a robotic automation system that automates the entire process of dismantling worn batteries using a highly flexible, repeatable and standardized process. With proof of concept recognition, Corma has now expanded its scope to include the reuse of car batteries. In doing so, Koma, together with other partners in the EU EIT manufacturing community, is taking an important step towards making e-mobility more sustainable.

Based on projected battery production in Europe over the next few years, Komar estimates that the EU could have more than 1 million waste batteries available for reuse by 2030. Komar believes that this market will continue to grow in demand, and to meet future demand, Komar is committed to developing effective waste battery recycling and reuse solutions. At the same time, it will help companies reduce waste and optimize the reuse of raw materials contained in battery packs.

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Flex-BD significantly improves manual procedures, which typically include repetitive and heavy-duty tasks, as well as tasks that come into contact with potentially harmful substances. As a result, it enables the recycling of battery modules and their components to be more efficient and sustainable, while having a positive impact on worker health and safety. On the other hand, by fully automating the disposal of low-charge batteries, reusing batteries minimizes the risk to operators and disassembly equipment. Unlike the complete discharge and destruction of battery materials and recycling process, the secondary use of the battery is carried out while maintaining a low but active battery charge.

The Flex-BD unit operates in an intuitive and innovative way. The battery packs are placed one by one in a dedicated unit, and the high-load Koma NJ industrial robot automatically executes its path and changes its end-effector according to the desired application. For example, in a typical recycling application, the robot would unscrew the battery cover, remove the battery cover after changing the fixture, reattach the screwdriver to remove the module, and then use its fixture to move the part to a dedicated storage area. In addition, Flex-BD uses a highly flexible programming approach based on reduced code usage, state-of-the-art environment awareness technology and robot responsiveness, and the entire dismantling cycle is defined by CAD. The use of LowCode programming also allows the operator to quickly and easily re-determine the beat without having to reprogram the robot.

Corma’s efforts to advance the deployment of green energy go beyond its expertise in automated manufacturing systems for batteries, motors and drive units, which are critical to enabling mass production of electric vehicles. At the same time, the company is addressing several key technologies and development aspects of battery cell manufacturing, including process design and assembly of rechargeable batteries, as well as renewable energy use and automotive battery reuse strategies.

Our collaboration with the Flex-BD project leverages Corma’s longstanding automation expertise in flexible, scalable and sustainable process development, said Pietro Gorlier, CEO of Corma. By expanding our smart automation solutions to include the secondary utilization of high-power batteries, many of which have up to 80% remaining capacity, Koma is making a tangible contribution to achieving truly sustainable mobility.