Bühler Group’s Grinding & Dispersing business area has been awarded a major contract by FIB S.p.A., a subsidiary of the Italian group Seri Industrial S.p.A., to supply cutting-edge equipment for the large-scale production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries at the Teverola 2 plant near Naples, Italy. With a remarkable annual production capacity of 8 gigawatt hours (GWh), this facility represents a significant step forward in Europe’s battery manufacturing landscape. Bühler’s equipment – four continuous mixing lines for electrode slurry production – is scheduled for installation by the end of 2025, with production expected to begin in 2026.
Swiss technology group Bühler and FIB, a company specialized in the production of lithium iron phosphate batteries for various applications such as energy storage systems and mobility solutions, have been developing a fruitful collaboration over the last years. In 2020, Bühler delivered an electrode slurry production system to FIB’s Teverola 1 project, a pilot plant with capacity of 0.35 GWh/year to produce lithium-ion cells, modules, and battery packs.
Building on this successful collaboration, Bühler will now supply two continuous mixing lines each for anode and cathode electrode slurry production at Teverola 2. These advanced systems utilize Bühler’s co-rotating twin-screw extruder technology, streamlining multiple process steps into a single, continuously running unit. This innovative approach ensures exceptional throughput, reduced energy consumption, and a high level of automation.
Developed by Bühler, this state-of-the-art technology consumes up to four times less energy and requires fewer operators compared to traditional batch mixing methods. Additionally, the integrated QuaLiB in-line quality control system, which is equipped with advanced sensors, data analytics, and automation, ensures precise monitoring and reduces production scrap rates, resulting in lower costs for FIB.
Andrea Civitillo, co-founder and Managing Director at Seri Industrial S.p.A. and FIB S.p.A., said: “Bühler’s state-of-the-art continuous mixing technology and their proven expertise at Teverola 1 made them the ideal partner for Teverola 2. Their solutions offer unparalleled efficiency, sustainability, and scalability, which align perfectly with our goals for the project. This partnership strengthens our position in the growing market for renewable energy and electric mobility markets.”
Adrian Spillmann, Head of Market Segment Battery Electrode Compounds at Bühler, also highlighted the significance of this partnership: “Our continued collaboration with FIB S.p.A. embodies our shared vision of driving innovation and sustainability in the energy sector. We are proud to contribute to such a transformative project that will significantly enhance Europe’s capacity for producing high-performance LFP batteries.”
