Comau has inaugurated a proprietary dry room laboratory at its Grugliasco, Italy headquarters to advance the development and validation of cell manufacturing equipment for lithium-ion and next-generation battery technologies. Spanning roughly 500 m², this moisture-controlled facility, capable of reaching dew points down to –50 °C, is designed to support electrode manufacturing, cell assembly, and formation processes. It also enables experimentation with moisture-sensitive materials such as lithium metal and novel electrolytes, marking a step toward solid-state and post-lithium battery formats.
Equipped with three dedicated proto-test stations—two at –40 °C dew point and one at –50 °C—along with the Comau Racer 5 Sensitive Environments robot, the dry room facilitates end-to-end evaluation of both existing and emerging cell production technologies. The investment, totaling nearly €1 million, underscores Comau’s commitment to accelerating technology commercialization and strengthening its position within the electrification sector.
The laboratory is intended as an open innovation hub, available to Comau’s Global Competence Center team of more than 40 engineers, as well as external customers, academic institutions, and industry associations. By offering access to advanced manufacturing environments, Comau aims to foster collaborative projects that address challenges in battery cell process optimization, including laser and mechanical notching, precise stacking techniques, and formation profiling.
Pietro Gorlier, Chief Executive Officer at Comau, stated “As recently demonstrated by the launch of a new full line of Cobots and AMRs, as well as welding technologies, Comau continues to invest in research and development across all of its strategic sectors, including e-Mobility. Our new dry room, which allows us to experiment with new battery cell formats and materials in a controlled, humidity-free environment, reflects our ongoing commitment to advancing industrial innovation while also reinforcing our presence and investments in Italy.”
Complementing its Italian site, Comau operates seven Innovation and Competence Centers in key markets—Italy, France, China, India, and the United States—providing global support for automation, robotics, and digital solutions. Through these centers and the new dry room, Comau seeks to contribute to a pan-European battery value chain and support the rapid evolution of battery manufacturing technologies.
Source: Comau
