Boosting production of organic batteries in Germany
Web Story
5min
2025-07-07
The global energy transition has brought with it increased demand for batteries to hold electrical energy from renewable sources.
CMBlu Energy AG's battery solutions are based on organic materials
In 2024, driven in part by a 25% rise in electric vehicle (EV) sales worldwide, but also by the need to store energy generated from renewables, annual battery demand surpassed a new milestone of 1 terawatt-hour (TWh).¹
Conventional batteries – those used in mobile phones or EVs, for example – rely on minerals and elements including lithium, cobalt and nickel, the extraction of which has raised environmental concerns².
Taking an organic approach to energy storage
But German storage manufacturer CMBlu has taken a different approach to storage of energy produced by renewable sources such as wind and solar. It has developed ‘organic’ batteries which do not rely on rare earths, lithium or rapidly flammable substances for their composition.
In simple terms, its technology imitates carbon-based molecules from the human citric acid cycle. From that basis, CMBlu has developed high-performance energy storage molecules that are entirely organic.
Having established the scientific basis for its approach, CMBlu is now engaged in scaling up its manufacturing capacity to bring economies of scale and reduce the cost of its products.
Production of CMBlu’s SolidFlow batteries, at its new production center in Alzenau, near Frankfurt, is being supported by ABB, thanks to the integration of our robots into its manufacturing process.
We are an R&D company and now we need to industrialize. So through ABB, having a partner which brings that expertise in from the outside is crucial for us, because only if we have industrialization do we have economies of scale. Then we are able to produce at costs which are feasible to make that energy transition happen.
Constantin Eis, CEO, CMBlu Energy
ABB robots are helping CMBlu’s organic battery manufacturing process
Robots key to industrializing the production process
A total of six IRB 5710, 5720 and 6700 ABB robots are used in the CMBlu Energy production line.
They are integral to the sophisticated production process, from the provision of the frame elements, to adding the electrode and membrane components for the welding systems, to the leak test and then handling the finished battery stack.
The production line has a modular design, meaning that it can be scaled up, down or adapted to meet new requirements, based on CMBlu’s order book.
ABB’s OmniCore robot controls have also been integrated into CMBlu’s production line. Their highly efficient power electronics and braking energy recovery inside the robot enable energy savings of up to 20 percent.
RobotStudio® simulation and programming software allows visualization of the production line, enabling opportunities for optimization.
Our cooperation with CMBlu Energy shows that robotics not only creates a plus in quality and efficiency, but also proves to be an indispensable technology for the energy transition and a driver for sustainability. Our large robots in combination with our OmniCoreTM controls can save up to 20 percent of energy. With the use of robotics, CMBlu Energy gains the necessary flexibility to manufacture different battery variants quickly and with high precision, thus becoming even more competitive.
Gabi Guter-Johansen, Head of ABB local Business Line Industries, Germany
Global battery demand is booming, driven by growth sectors such as electric vehicles
The use of robotics and automation is the next logical step for us to produce our solid-flow battery on an industrial scale and meet growing demand. We are all the more pleased to be able to bring this solution into series production together with ABB Robotics. Further automated production lines are already being planned.
Dr. Nastaran Krawczyk, CTO, CMBlu Energy AG