Startup battery technology company Intecells is accelerating the industrialization of its revolutionary manufacturing process following a strategic investment and strengthened collaboration with global robotics and automation specialist, Comau.
Comau, a leading provider of best-practice technologies in electrification, has acquired a stake in Intecells to drive forward the development and commercialization of the company’s patented plasma technology for battery electrode manufacturing.
The core benefit of this jointly-developed solution is its ability to radically reduce the financial and environmental burden of modern gigafactories. Intecells and Comau project the technology will halve investment costs, energy consumption, and carbon emissions for battery electrode production.
Solving the “Dry Coating” Challenge with Plasma
The partnership targets critical bottlenecks in battery cell production, which currently relies on decades-old, incremental manufacturing methods. Intecells’ proprietary, low-energy, atmospheric plasma technology overcomes these issues in two major ways:
- Enabling Dry Coating: The technology alters the electrodes’ surface properties to enable true dry-coating of electrodes. This eliminates toxic solvents and binders, together with the inherently wasteful and carbon-intensive drying process, significantly improving sustainability and efficiency.
- Accelerating Absorption: The plasma modifies the electrode surface to accelerate electrolyte absorption, a current time-sink bottleneck in cell manufacturing, dramatically reducing cycle times.
Beyond manufacturing efficiency, the two firms are focused on improving core battery metrics, including enhanced cell capacity, extended cycle life, and production quality across various form factors and chemistries. The developments are set to transform the entire battery industry, impacting electric vehicles, stationary energy storage, and consumer electronics.
“This investment marks the beginning of a strong partnership that will help us expand faster, innovate further, and deliver greater value to our customers,” said Xiaohong Gayden, founder and CEO of Intecells.
Comau CEO, Pietro Gorlier, affirmed the commitment to smart manufacturing: “Our work with Intecells demonstrates how we’re advancing smart, scalable solutions that can be integrated into new and existing battery cell lines… In fast-moving sectors like electric mobility, where companies face pressure to optimize both product and production costs, it’s essential to combine technological excellence with operational agility.”
The strengthened collaboration leverages Comau’s world-class expertise in automation and robotics to integrate the plasma technology as a scalable, turnkey solution within existing cell production lines. This pragmatic, revenue-focused business model is a clear differentiator for Intecells, prioritizing a path toward affordable mass-produced batteries, including next-generation solid-state technology.
