Dry Electrode Manufacturing
Dry electrode manufacturing is a group of processes that form battery electrode layers without first suspending the active material, conductive additive, and binder in a liquid slurry.
How it differs from wet processing
Conventional electrode production mixes these materials with a solvent, coats the slurry onto a metal current collector, and evaporates the solvent in a drying line. A dry process instead mixes and forms the solids directly, then bonds the resulting layer to the current collector. The exact powder handling, binder, pressing, and coating method varies; dry electrode is not one standardised recipe. Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Advanced electrode processing for lithium-ion battery manufacturing
Why it matters
Removing the slurry solvent can reduce energy use, factory space, process time, and the equipment needed for drying and solvent recovery. It may also make thick electrodes easier to manufacture. These benefits depend on controlling particle distribution, porosity, film strength, conductivity, adhesion, production speed, and yield. Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Dry processed electrodes with improved performance
Dry does not mean that the whole cell factory operates without humidity control or later moisture removal. It describes how the electrode layer is formed, not the battery chemistry, and can apply to both anodes and cathodes.
For current production maturity and manufacturer programmes, see Latest Advances in EV Battery Technology.