Dry Process for Lithium Batteries: Mature and Implementable, Unlocking a New Path for Enterprises to Reduce Costs, Boost Efficiency and Upgrade to High-End

Amid the wave of the lithium battery industry upgrading toward higher energy density, lower costs and greater environmental friendliness, the innovative iteration of electrode sheet preparation processes has become the core breakthrough for enterprises to seize market opportunities. Compared with the traditional wet process, the dry process, with its distinctive advantages of solvent-free operation, low energy consumption and high performance, is regarded by the industry as a "green revolution" in lithium battery manufacturing, and even a key technical route adapted for high-energy-density batteries and solid-state batteries. Today, as the large-scale mass production of dry electrode technology is gradually put into practice and domestic deployment continues to advance, the dry process has moved from the technological breakthrough stage to the initial phase of large-scale application. With its technical maturity and industrial supporting capacity rising steadily, it has become the preferred solution for various battery enterprises to cut costs, enhance efficiency and achieve high-end transformation. This paper will fully analyze the core advantages of the dry process, interpret its industrial application value in combination with the latest industry implementation achievements, and guide more enterprises to seize the dividends of process iteration and leapfrog their competitiveness through the layout of the dry process.

I. Core Advantages of the Dry Process: Breaking the Shackles of the Wet Process and Highlighting Technological Potential

The core competitiveness of the dry process lies in its complete independence from organic solvents relied on by the wet process. It reconstructs the electrode sheet preparation process with the core logic of dry mixing and physical forming, forming irreplaceable advantages in three dimensions: environmental protection, cost and performance, and accurately meeting the "dual carbon" goals and high-end upgrading demands of the new energy industry.

(1) Environmental Protection and Energy Saving: Eliminating Solvent Dependence for Green Production

This is the most prominent advantage of the dry process and also its essential difference from the wet process. The wet process requires a large amount of toxic organic solvents (e.g., NMP commonly used for cathodes). Producing electrode sheets for 1GWh lithium batteries consumes more than 500 tons of NMP, which not only incurs high procurement costs (over $3 per liter) but also demands huge capital investment in building solvent recovery and waste gas treatment systems. Moreover, a small amount of loss still occurs during the recovery process, posing potential environmental risks of VOCs emissions.

In contrast, the dry process requires no organic solvents throughout the entire process. It only relies on mechanical shearing and high-speed mixing to uniformly disperse active materials, conductive agents and dry binders (mainly PTFE), followed by calendering and hot-press composite forming. This fundamentally eliminates solvent pollution and obviates the need for supporting drying tunnels and solvent recovery equipment. The energy consumption is reduced by more than 40% compared with the wet process, among which the drying and recovery links alone can save 45% of the total line energy consumption. It truly achieves the green production goal of zero pollution and low energy consumption, perfectly aligning with the global trend of industrial green transformation and the requirements of environmental protection policies.

(2) Cost Optimization: Streamlining the Process Chain to Reduce Comprehensive Losses

By simplifying the production process, the dry process achieves all-round cost optimization in four dimensions: equipment, energy consumption, raw materials and factory buildings.

• Equipment investment: The dry process dispenses with large-scale equipment such as dissolution kettles, high-speed dispersers, vacuum defoamers and long-distance drying tunnels, reducing the factory floor area by 90% and cutting equipment investment costs by 30%-50% compared with the wet process.

• Energy consumption costs: The advantage of no drying link reduces the production cost of electrode sheets for 1GWh by 15%-18%, with a saving of RMB 0.056 per Wh.

• Raw material losses: The dry process avoids raw material waste caused by solvent volatilization, and the active material loading rate can reach more than 95%, far higher than that of the wet process, significantly improving raw material utilization efficiency.

• Other costs: It eliminates the need for solvent treatment costs and reduces equipment maintenance expenses in the solvent recovery process, with a more prominent comprehensive cost advantage under long-term large-scale production, becoming an important breakthrough for enterprises to reduce costs and enhance competitiveness.

(3) Performance Leap: Adapting to High-End Scenarios and Breaking the Bottlenecks of the Wet Process

In terms of core battery performance, the dry process surpasses the wet process by virtue of its unique forming logic, and is especially suitable for high-end battery scenarios requiring high energy density and long cycle life.

On the one hand, without the solvent evaporation link, the dry process avoids the problem of micropore collapse in electrode sheets caused by solvent volatilization in the wet process, retains a more complete pore structure of active materials, and realizes molecular-level dense stacking of active particles, greatly improving the compaction density of electrode sheets. The compaction density of ternary materials and lithium iron phosphate materials is significantly increased compared with the wet process, directly driving a 10%-20% rise in battery energy density.

On the other hand, in the dry process, the PTFE binder stretches into a three-dimensional fiber network under high shear force, closely wrapping active material and conductive agent particles, which can effectively buffer the volume expansion of silicon-based anodes. The capacity retention rate of silicon-based anodes can reach 85% after 1000 cycles, far higher than the 70% of wet electrode sheets. Meanwhile, the solvent-free environment avoids the reaction loss of pre-lithiation additives with solvents, increasing the initial Coulombic efficiency of batteries by 8%, which clears the way for the commercialization of silicon-carbon anodes and is more adapted to the preparation requirements of solid-state batteries, becoming the core support for the iteration of high-end battery technologies.

At present, the industry has achieved a breakthrough in the preparation technology of wide-width and high-speed dry electrodes, which can effectively improve the consistency and production efficiency of electrode sheets and push the dry process toward industrial implementation.

II. The Dry Process: Maturing Industrialization Conditions, Zero Threshold and Abundant Dividends for Enterprise Application

Relying on the joint efforts of enterprises and scientific research institutions in the industry, the technical maturity of the dry process has been continuously improved, and the industrial supporting system has been gradually improved, completely breaking the initial development barriers and forming a sound pattern of mature technology, available equipment, guaranteed raw materials and controllable costs. Compared with the decades-long traditional layout of the wet process, the dry process, as a new upgrading route, is more adapted to the current industrial demand for high-end and green development. Both high-end battery enterprises and medium and low-end production enterprises can find suitable application solutions and easily enjoy multiple dividends brought by process iteration.

(1) Technology and Equipment: Localization Breakthrough and Implementation, Adapting to the Production Needs of Various Enterprises

After years of technological iteration, the core links of the dry process (dry mixing and calendering forming) have achieved precise control. Domestic enterprises have overcome the core problems of equipment precision and process control, forming a mature technical solution. In response to the production needs of enterprises of different scales, two types of equipment solutions (standardized and customized) have been launched, which can not only meet the large-scale and high-consistency production requirements of power batteries, but also adapt to the capacity layout of small and medium-sized enterprises, without requiring enterprises to invest huge additional R&D costs to overcome technical problems.

At present, domestic high-end dry process equipment has achieved a localization breakthrough. As one of the earliest domestic enterprises to lay out and focus on the R&D and manufacturing of dry electrode equipment, Tsingyane Electronics has launched mature equipment products. Its high-speed and wide-width dry film forming equipment has a width of up to 1200mm and a speed of 80m/min, which has been delivered to leading OEMs for on-site use. The equipment stability and production efficiency have reached the industry-leading level, completely breaking the situation of relying on imports for core equipment.

Meanwhile, a complete process guidance system has been formed in the industry, which can assist enterprises in quickly mastering process parameters and accurately controlling key links such as temperature, humidity and raw material ratio. At present, the yield rate of the dry process has been raised to more than 90%, close to that of the wet process, which can fully meet the large-scale production needs of various enterprises and help them quickly realize process switching and capacity implementation. In addition, the continuous optimization of relevant dry electrode patents has further improved the process logic, provided more efficient technical references for enterprise applications, and promoted the overall improvement of the industry's process level.

(2) Industrial Supporting: Joint Efforts of the Upper and Lower Industrial Chains, Sufficient Supply Chain Guarantee

Enterprises in the upper and lower reaches of the lithium battery industry have laid out the supporting system for the dry process one after another, and gradually built a complete collaborative ecosystem of raw materials-equipment-production-services, completely solving the problem of insufficient supporting facilities in the initial stage, providing all-round guarantee for enterprises to apply the dry process, eliminating the worry of supply chain disconnection and realizing process upgrading easily.

• Upstream raw material end: The supply of high-end raw materials adapted to the dry process has been fully guaranteed, and the localization substitution process has been continuously accelerated. In the field of PTFE binders, domestic enterprises have overcome the problem of fiberization performance, the product performance stability has been greatly improved, and imported products have been gradually replaced, reducing the procurement costs of enterprises. In the field of active materials, most raw material enterprises have launched products with uniform particle size adapted to the dry process, with good fluidity, which can perfectly match the dry mixing and forming requirements, and the raw material procurement is convenient with controllable costs. Meanwhile, special conductive agent and binder products adapted to the dry process are continuously launched, further improving raw material adaptability and clearing the obstacles for enterprise applications.

• Downstream application end: The application scenarios of the dry process have been continuously expanded, no longer limited to high-end power batteries and solid-state batteries, and gradually penetrated into mainstream scenarios such as medium and low-end power batteries and energy storage batteries. Whether pursuing high-end performance upgrading or focusing on cost optimization, the dry process can provide suitable solutions. For enterprises with existing wet production lines, the industry has launched flexible upgrading and transformation solutions. Instead of completely rebuilding the production lines, the process can be switched through partial transformation and gradual adaptation, which greatly reduces the enterprise's transformation investment and shortens the implementation cycle. At the same time, a professional technical team is equipped to provide commissioning and training services, helping enterprises quickly master production skills and achieve a smooth transition. At present, many enterprises have laid out dry process production lines, and mass production orders are gradually being implemented, setting a good application benchmark for the industry.

(3) Cost Advantages: Controllable in the Short Term, Prominent Long-Term Dividends, Adapting to the Budget of Various Enterprises

The cost advantages of the dry process run through the entire production process. Whether in short-term investment or long-term operation, it can help enterprises reduce costs and improve benefits, fully adapting to the budget needs of enterprises of all scales. With the advancement of large-scale application, the unit production cost of the dry process is continuously declining and has gradually approached that of the wet process. Coupled with its advantages of energy saving and consumption reduction in long-term operation, it has become the core grasp for enterprises to control costs. Early layout can seize the cost dividends.

• Short-term investment: The dry process eliminates a large number of wet process-specific equipment, reducing equipment investment costs by 30%-50% compared with the wet process. At the same time, the factory floor area is reduced by 90%, greatly lowering the enterprise's site investment and equipment depreciation costs. For small and medium-sized enterprises, lightweight and modular equipment can be selected to further control the initial investment.

• Long-term operation: The energy consumption of the dry process is reduced by more than 40% compared with the wet process, the production cost of electrode sheets for 1GWh is reduced by 15%-18%, with a saving of RMB 0.056 per Wh. The raw material utilization rate is as high as more than 95%, and there is no need for additional expenses such as solvent recovery and environmental governance, with an extremely prominent long-term operation cost advantage. With the gradual emergence of the scale effect of the dry process, the unit production cost of dry electrode sheets will continue to decline, and enterprises with early layout can enjoy cost dividends first and further enhance their market competitiveness.

(4) Cognitive and Technical Support: Improved Supporting Services, Zero Pressure for Enterprises to Get Started

At present, the industry's cognition of the dry process has been fully upgraded. More and more enterprises have realized its technical advantages and industrial value, and have joined the layout ranks one after another, forming a good industry atmosphere. In response to the problems of enterprises lacking technical teams and production experience, a complete technical support and service system has been established in the industry. Scientific research institutions and equipment enterprises jointly provide all-round services such as technical guidance, talent training and process commissioning, without requiring enterprises to invest a lot of funds in R&D and talent training, and realizing the implementation of the dry process easily.

Meanwhile, Tsingyane Electronics and its joint venture subsidiary Tsingyane Naco have accumulated rich large-scale application data, which fully verifies the performance stability and long-term reliability of the dry process, completely dispelling the industry's concerns about application. Both large leading enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises can easily get started and quickly implement the dry process, and realize transformation and upgrading with the help of the dry process. Having deep ploughed in the field of dry electrode equipment R&D and manufacturing for many years, we can cooperate with Tsingyane Electronics to provide full-process technical support and services for various enterprises.

III. Enterprise Layout Guide: Low Cost, High Return, Seizing the Dividends of the Dry Process Quickly

The industrial implementation of the dry process has entered a golden period. Combined with the production needs and development positioning of different enterprises, enterprises can achieve the upgrading goals of low cost and high return through differentiated layout, seize the dividends of process iteration quickly and enhance their core competitiveness. Combined with the industry implementation experience, the following precise layout guide is provided for various enterprises to help them implement the dry process efficiently.

First, select equipment and process solutions on demand to lower the implementation threshold. Large leading enterprises can lay out large-scale and high-end dry production lines, adapt to the production of high-energy-density batteries and solid-state batteries, and match with domestic high-end equipment to achieve both capacity and performance improvement. Small and medium-sized enterprises can give priority to laying out pilot lines or lightweight production lines, select standardized equipment to control the initial investment, and quickly master core technologies with the help of process guidance services provided by the industry, and gradually realize large-scale expansion. Meanwhile, relying on the mature equipment and technical solutions of Tsingyane Electronics, enterprises can further reduce equipment procurement and technology implementation costs and shorten the implementation cycle.

Second, rely on the improved supply chain to achieve efficient adaptation. In the layout process, enterprises can give priority to selecting localized high-end raw materials and equipment to reduce procurement costs and supply risks, and realize the precise adaptation of raw materials, equipment and processes with the help of the collaborative services of upstream raw material enterprises and equipment enterprises. Meanwhile, strengthen cooperation with scientific research institutions, share technical experience and application cases, further improve layout efficiency, reduce trial and error costs, and quickly realize stable mass production of the process.

Third, focus on their own scenarios and carry out precise layout and development. Enterprises focusing on high-end scenarios can rely on the performance advantages of the dry process, focus on the layout of high-energy-density power batteries, solid-state batteries and high-end energy storage batteries, create differentiated competitive advantages and seize high-end market share. Enterprises focusing on medium and low-end scenarios and cost control can rely on the advantages of energy saving, consumption reduction and process streamlining of the dry process, optimize the existing production system, reduce operation costs, improve product cost performance and enhance market competitiveness. Enterprises with existing wet production lines can adopt the method of "gradual transformation and steady adaptation" to switch processes in phases, take into account the existing capacity and upgrading needs, and achieve a smooth transition and high efficiency returns.

IV. The Popularization of the Dry Process is an Inevitable Trend of Industrial Upgrading

The advantages of the dry process for lithium batteries are in line with the development trend of the new energy industry toward high-end, green and low-cost. Its technical maturity and industrial supporting capacity have fully met the large-scale application needs of various enterprises, becoming the core grasp for enterprises to reduce costs, boost efficiency and achieve high-end transformation. With the advancement of large-scale dry process and continuous breakthroughs in domestic layout, the dry process has entered a golden period of industrialization. Early layout can seize industry dividends and widen the competitiveness gap with peer enterprises.

In the future, with the continuous improvement of industrial supporting facilities and the further emergence of scale effects, the dry process will gradually become the mainstream process for lithium battery electrode sheet preparation, leading the industry to achieve all-round upgrading. For all types of battery enterprises, now is the best time to lay out the dry process. There is no need to worry about technology, supporting facilities and costs. Relying on the industry's improved support system, especially the technical and equipment support of Tsingyane Electronics, enterprises can easily realize the process implementation, reduce operation costs, improve product performance with the multiple advantages of the dry process, seize the commanding height of the global new energy industry competition, and achieve high-quality and sustainable development.