Talouselämä: A Finnish company has found a way to improve battery quality – and reduce dependence on China

CeLLife Technologies, a company developing diagnostics for the battery industry, has raised two million euros in seed funding in a round led by the French firm Ventech. CeLLife's technology enables faster measurement of battery cell quality, which reduces the amount of waste generated during battery manufacturing. According to the company, this technology not only leads to better batteries for end-users but also significant savings for battery manufacturers.

Batteries consist of cells that resemble AA batteries or VHS cassettes. For instance, an electric vehicle battery contains hundreds of cells, and the overall performance and lifespan of the battery are determined by the weakest cell. Even a single faulty cell can ruin the entire battery.

When new cell production begins, as much as tens of percent of the output can be defective. Marko Tulonen, chairman of the company's board and one of CeLLife's three co-founders, was surprised by the poor quality of production.

"On a production line, every third new cell might go straight to recycling. That is completely unacceptable in any other industry," Tulonen says.

Typically, poor-quality cells reduce the battery's capacity and shorten its lifespan. In the worst-case scenario, a damaged cell could lead to a battery fire. For car manufacturers, replacing cells after the fact results in expensive recall campaigns. "It's better to stop a defective cell right on the production line."

CeLLife's goal is also to facilitate the reuse of batteries by measuring cell quality. "Traditionally, reuse has meant recycling, where batteries are crushed and their raw materials recovered. Our aim is to allow them to be reused as-is in a new application."

This is a shortened version of Talouselämä's article that was originally published on August 1, 2024. You may read the whole article in Talouselämä's digital magazine (in Finnish & paid version) from this link .