MAN Truck & Bus officially launched its battery production at the Nuremberg production site. During the event, the Munich-based commercial vehicle manufacturer announced the next expansion stage of its battery production in Nuremberg for the first time. In addition to the approximately 100 million euros already invested in the production facility that has now been launched, a further 150 million euros will be invested in the coming years to further develop expertise in the field of battery technology and increase the depth of added value.
In concrete terms, this means, among other things, that in addition to the packs, which consist of several modules, the modules themselves, which combine several battery cells, will also be produced in Nuremberg for the next battery generation.
Of the announced additional investments totalling around 150 million euros, around 18 million euros will be subsidised. Both the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) and the Free State of Bavaria are providing the funding. In addition, the Free State of Bavaria is funding the further development of and research into battery technology at the MAN site in Nuremberg with around 30 million euros. These funds will be used for research in areas such as battery assembly, cell chemistry and ageing as well as battery safety.
Overall, the investments in Nuremberg will secure around 400 jobs in a technology of the future and further advance the transformation of the site. The employees working in battery production were previously employed in the areas of engine assembly, foundry or logistics and were able to open up a new, future-proof field of work for themselves thanks to retraining.
‘Today is a historic day for MAN. With the start of battery production, the company that invented the diesel engine is entering a new era. We are very proud of what we have created here in Nuremberg and what will continue to be created. Today we announced another milestone in the transformation towards climate-friendly drives: MAN will invest a further 150 million euros in the expansion of battery production for future battery generations in Nuremberg. We have also recently stepped up our efforts in the further development of state-of-the-art diesel technology. This brings the total investment in Nuremberg to half a billion euros. This is a clear commitment to Bavaria and Germany as a centre of innovation,’ says MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp.
The start of battery production is already the second new production line to be opened in Nuremberg this year. The production of the latest generation of MAN diesel engines, which are used in the new D30 PowerLion driveline, is also an investment in the future and secures many jobs at the site. MAN has invested around 250 million euros in this project. MAN currently assumes that almost half of the trucks in Europe and around 90 per cent of city buses will be delivered with zero-emission drive systems by 2030. The highly efficient, fuel-efficient D30 engine will therefore still be needed well into the 2030s. Other engine platforms and series will also be available in MAN’s external engine business in the long term.
MAN eTruck production starts in June
At the MAN site in Nuremberg, battery packs are manufactured in three so-called form factors. A flat form factor is used in the MAN Lion’s City E, the battery-electric city bus. Two other form factors are used in the MAN eTGL, MAN eTGS and MAN eTGX eTrucks with total weights of 12 to 50 tonnes. The start of series production of the MAN eTrucks eTGS and eTGX in Munich is planned for June this year.
In the current expansion stage, 50,000 battery packs can be produced per year in Nuremberg. However, the new M50 building is designed to be able to produce 100,000 units per year. Battery production will be scaled up depending on the demand for battery-electric vehicles.
MAN uses NMC cell chemistry (‘nickel-manganese-cobalt’) in its batteries, which has been specially adapted to the operation of commercial vehicles. The battery management system (BMS) continuously monitors the condition of the cells during operation. If, for example, an unforeseen event occurs, it takes internal measures to ensure a safe state of charge. In the event of an accident, the BMS immediately disconnects the battery from the rest of the vehicle (high-voltage emergency shutdown). It also uses an intelligent heating and cooling system to keep the battery cells in an optimum temperature range at all times.
Modular production is a technological highlight in the large-scale production of battery packs that is now starting. This means that MAN works with a system without a conveyor belt and cycle that can handle different product variants and can be easily adapted to new variants. The decoupled stations can be operated and converted independently of each other, and the battery packs flow through the production system depending on individual requirements and condition. This is made possible by a high degree of digitalisation and automation in the production flow and material provision, which is fully automated with intelligently networked automated guided vehicles (AGVs). This ensures the necessary flexibility and versatility as well as the economical production of different battery packs.
100 per cent final inspection
Quality and safety have always been top priorities in MAN production. This also applies to new battery production. Every battery pack undergoes an ‘end of line’ test at the end of production. The focus here is on various software tests, electrical tests such as charging/discharging, checking the data of the battery cells and modules transmitted by the supplier and a leakage test. After all, the compact power storage units have to withstand wind and weather as well as a steam jet.
To this end, each battery is subjected to 23 test programmes and around 400 test parameters are recorded. This is documented individually for each battery. This means that the production process can still be traced even after 15 years.
