What does Eirich make for battery production?

Eirich makes mixing and preparation equipment used to produce the electrode slurries that go into lithium-ion battery cells. Its machines range from small laboratory mixers used in early-stage materials research to large industrial systems used in gigafactory production lines.

Why does electrode mixing matter for battery quality?

The way active materials, binders, and additives are mixed determines whether an electrode slurry is stable or sensitive to small changes in temperature, particle size, or viscosity. Inconsistent mixing can directly affect coating quality, scrap rates, and ultimately how well the finished battery performs.

Where is Eirich's battery mixing technology already in use?

Eirich mixing systems are deployed at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry and at multiple production sites across Europe and Asia, including plants running several gigawatt-hours of annual capacity.

What is a dry electrode and why does it matter for EV batteries?

A dry electrode is produced without the solvents used in conventional wet-coating processes, removing the need for energy-intensive drying steps. Eirich is developing dry electrode processing technology as part of its work on next-generation battery production methods.

What scale of mixing systems does Eirich supply for battery production?

Eirich supplies mixing equipment across a wide capacity range, from laboratory micro-mixers handling a few decagrams of material to industrial systems supporting giga-pilot plants of approximately two and a half gigawatt-hours and full production sites running five to six gigawatt-hours annually.

How does Eirich's mixing principle support scale-up from lab to production?

Eirich's mixing principle uses a rotating vessel and an eccentric mixing tool that maintains geometric similarity across machine sizes. This allows process parameters validated on small laboratory mixers to transfer directly to pilot and production-scale systems, reducing the risk typically associated with scaling battery manufacturing processes from the laboratory to industrial output.

What procurement or supply chain implications does Eirich's integrated engineering model have for battery manufacturers?

Eirich offers engineering services covering the full electrode mixing line, from raw material handling and dosing through to hand-over to the coater, managed from a single source. For manufacturers planning gigafactory-scale lines, this reduces the number of interfaces between suppliers, which can shorten commissioning timelines and lower the operational risk associated with integrating equipment from multiple vendors.

Battery mixing technology from Eirich bridges lab testing and gigafactory production

Q: What award did Eirich win in 2026?

Eirich won the German Innovation Award 2026 in the Machines and Engineering category for its MixSolver system, named Giga Odenwald. The award was presented in Berlin in May 2026 by an independent jury that reviewed 462 submissions from 23 countries.

Q: What is the Eirich Innovation Center Japan?

The Eirich Innovation Center Japan is a new research and testing facility opening in Nagoya in July 2026. It consolidates the former Nippon Eirich headquarters and the Narita test centre into a single three-storey building of around 1,800 square metres, including a dedicated laboratory for battery materials testing.

Q: Who is involved in the ProLiT battery research project?

ProLiT is a German government-funded research consortium developing dry coating processes for lithium-ion battery cathodes. Its partners include BMW, Custom Cells, Coperion K-Tron, Matthews International's Saueressig Engineering, Umicore, Daikin Chemical Europe, IBU-tec advanced materials, TU Braunschweig, the University of Münster's MEET Battery Research Center, and Eirich.

Category: Batteries, Components & Technology, Material Handling, Materials & Manufacturing, Recycling & Second Life

June 30, 2026

A rendering of a multi-level Eirich battery electrode mixing line, showing slurry tank skids, pump skids, and powder handling equipment arranged across upper and lower production levels.

Eirich’s modular slurry and pump skid design allows electrode mixing lines to scale from pilot installations to full gigafactory throughput without redesigning the core process

(Image courtesy of Eirich)

Eirich has built a battery electrode mixing portfolio that spans coin-cell scale laboratory testing through gigafactory production. The Hardheim-based mechanical engineering specialist points to an established track record at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and at production sites running several gigawatt-hours of annual capacity

Electrode mixing determines battery quality at scale

The construction of electrode mixes has an outsized effect on battery quality and service life, since interactions between active materials, binders, additives, and machine technology determine whether a slurry holds stable rheological properties or proves sensitive to minor process fluctuations. The EL1nano micro-mixer allows recipe testing with samples of just a few decagrams, an advantage the company highlights given that battery materials can cost several hundred to a thousand euros per kilogram. Because the mixing principle remains geometrically similar across machine sizes, results from small-batch testing transfer directly to pilot and production lines.

Customers can test recipes and process parameters at Eirich’s Hardheim test centre and at sister facilities in China, Japan, India, and the United States. The Japanese operation is expanding with the Eirich Innovation Centre Japan, opening in Nagoya in July 2026. The facility consolidates the former Nippon Eirich headquarters and the Narita test centre into a three-storey, roughly 1,800 square metre building, with a dedicated laboratory for battery materials testing among its core functions.

Battery mixing technology deployed across UK and European sites

Eirich has supplied mixing and preparation technology to the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry, where its systems remain in operation on the research facility’s electrode production line. Separately, peer-reviewed research published in Powder Technology identifies the Eirich mixer as a widely used choice in UK and European battery manufacturing, citing its availability across scales from roughly 0.1 to 12,000 litres.

More than a hundred laboratory and pilot mixers have been delivered worldwide through its test centre network. Installed systems in Europe and Asia include giga-pilot plants of approximately two and a half gigawatt-hours, several production sites running five to six gigawatt-hours annually, and pilot lines in the three-digit megawatt-hour range. Eirich supports these deployments through training, joint commissioning, and rental machines for projects needing to move quickly.

Process reproducibility recognised with German Innovation Award

Cell manufacturing challenges frequently stem from processes that cannot be exactly replicated, where variations in particle size distribution, temperature, or viscosity affect electrode production and battery performance. Eirich’s mixing principle combines a rotating vessel with an eccentric mixing tool to fully circulate the mixing vessel’s volume multiple times per minute, paired with precision solid and liquid dosing and a self-cleaning system, producing slurries with consistent solids content and stable rheological properties.

This approach earned Eirich the German Innovation Award 2026 in the Machines & Engineering category, recognising the company’s MixSolver system, named “Giga Odenwald.” The award was presented in Berlin in May 2026, selected by an independent interdisciplinary jury that evaluated 462 submissions from 23 countries on innovation level, user benefit, and economic viability.

Engineering integration across the production chain

Beyond mixing technology itself, Eirich provides engineering services covering complete electrode mixing systems, from raw material handling and dosing through hand-over to the coater. Managing these steps from a single source reduces interfaces and accelerates production setup, particularly for gigafactory-scale projects using modular, standardised system concepts.

Eirich is also developing technology for dry electrode manufacturing and all-solid-state batteries. The company is an associated partner in ProLiT, a German government-funded research consortium developing dry coating processes for lithium-ion battery cathodes. ProLiT‘s partners include BMW, Custom Cells, Coperion K-Tron, Matthews International’s Saueressig Engineering, Umicore, Daikin Chemical Europe, IBU-tec advanced materials, TU Braunschweig, and the University of Münster’s MEET Battery Research Center, working toward a scalable, solvent-free alternative to wet-coating processes.

“Our mission is to build machines that will still enable the right processes tomorrow,” said Dr. Stefan Gerl, Head of Process Technology at Eirich. He said ensuring reproducible quality is the key requirement whether processing conventional slurry or dry electrodes.

Eirich frames its end-to-end approach, from laboratory testing through gigafactory deployment, as a contribution to process reliability in the European battery supply chain, as the company positions itself against suppliers it characterises as prioritising scale and speed over process understanding. The company’s dry electrode and solid-state battery work through ProLiT and other consortia indicates where it expects future demand to concentrate.

Stay ahead in the electrification revolution. Explore more breakthroughs from leading innovators in electric commercial transport – visit our news page.