Paris, 14-15 November 2024
Comau took part in the Upcell 2024 conference, held Nov. 14-15 in Paris, joining the event as a partner of Upcell, an alliance it joined in 2023, to help create a pan-European battery manufacturing chain. Several of Comau’s VP and managers were asked to share their views regarding the challenges and opportunities along the path towards electrification. In doing so, the automation leader has again reconfirmed its position within the sector while continuing its work with Upcell and reinforcing also the message of its commitment, as part of Ensemble, a partnership consisting of competent and dedicated European companies, working towards accelerating the European battery market.
During the event, Comau’s Giacomo Del Panta, SVP Global Customer Management, started with a talk titled “Challenges and Comau solutions towards high efficiency in battery manufacturing” highlighting Comau’s vision and how the company envisions a future where manufacturing automation is driven by lean, scalable and sustainable solutions and products. During the speech, he emphasized how Comau combines technology, shared knowledge and proven manufacturing expertise to harness the power of automation in the electric mobility sector.
Giacomo Del Panta also spoke about the importance of increased sustainability in terms of monitoring, traceability, and re-traceability of processes to improve overall efficiency and the need for increased safety for worker welfare by reducing risks and facilitating ergonomic sustainability. Then, highlighting the theme of cost containment, Mr. Del Panta explored increased product and process optimization, in addition to scalability. To this end, he provided examples of supporting a project from pilot to Giga-scale by applying a modular approach to configure our processes through elementary building blocks.
“To keep up with this rapidly evolving marketplace, developing flexible technologies that can adapt to demands is essential. In recent years we have seen an increase in demand for automation in the mobility and electric mobility sectors, particularly in battery manufacturing, but also in other sectors such as renewable energy, shipbuilding and construction, for which double-digit growth is expected in the coming years”.
Giacomo Del Panta, SVP Global Customer Management at Comau
Comau has a solid history of helping companies manage their battery assembly operations, in addition to process development support for an evolving product, ensuring assembly line modularity and reconfigurability, and achieving important results such as a reduced time to market.
As a full-service provider for the entire battery production system, Comau has taken on complex challenges since its early days and has a strong track record of spearheading best-in-class solutions for diversified production needs through advanced automation. One of the many examples is Flex-BD, a robotic system that automates the entire process of dismantling spent electric batteries using a highly flexible, repeatable and standardizable solution.
For the European battery industry to succeed globally, it is necessary to invest in the continuous technological advancement of the industry. Sharing the mission of Upcell and Ensemble, Comau is committed to bringing innovative technological solutions to market that can accompany European companies throughout their e-Mobility journey.
Comau’s participation in Ensemble and Upcell also complements other important partnerships for the development and expansion of the European battery industry, including the European Battery Alliance (EBA) and the Batteries European Partnership Association (BEPA), of which Comau’s Gian Carlo Tronzano is a member of the Executive Board. Mr. Tronzono also participates in the European Technology & Innovation Platform (ETIP) for batteries.