Development and production of electrochemical test cells, multichannel potentiostats and battery testing services for battery research
EL-Cell GmbH
21079 Hamburg (Tempowerkring 8)New on Amplifa
Who we are
EL-Cell GmbH develops and produces electrochemical test equipment for battery research at its Hamburg-Harburg site, in particular for lithium-ion, lithium-metal and sodium batteries as well as solid-state systems and supercapacitors. The portfolio includes battery test cells (including PAT-Cell, PAT-Cell-Solid up to 300 MPa, ECC-Opto-10, PAT-Cell-Gas), modular PAT-Core components, multichannel potentiostats of the PAT-Tester series, the ECD-4-nano electrochemical dilatometer as well as tools such as EL-Cut and ECC-LiPunch. Devices and tools can be customized to customer requirements. In addition, the company offers electrochemical testing services in its own battery laboratory with more than 250 test channels, an MBraun glovebox, temperature-controlled test cabinets (-40 °C to +80 °C) and a digital Keyence microscope, including cycling and impedance tests, dilatation, force and gas pressure measurements as well as optical microscopy of electrode processes. More than 800 customers from industrial and academic research are supplied directly or via distributors in the UK, Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan.
- Site
- Hamburg
- Processes
- Electrochemical testing services (cycle life and impedance tests on half and full cells), Quantification of electrode expansion during charging/discharging (dilatation), Gas pressure analysis / quantification of gas evolution during battery formation, Measurement of stack force during charging/discharging, Visualization of electrode processes by optical microscopy, High-throughput testing on hundreds of channels with PAT-Tester high-precision potentiostats, Three-electrode setups for high-throughput measurements or special applications, Electrode punching and assembly of test cells (punching/assembly)
- Materials
- Lithium metal, LiPF6-based electrolytes, Anode and cathode materials (lithium-ion battery), LFP (partially delithiated, as reference electrode), Silicon-carbon composite anode, Sulfide solid electrolyte, LFP (partially delithiated), Anode and cathode materials
- Employees
- more than 40
- Industries
- Battery research (lithium-ion, lithium-metal, sodium batteries), Solid-state batteries, Energy storage, Supercapacitors, Academic and industrial research & development
- 01
Engineering and product development
- 02
Manufacturing and assembly of test cells, tools and measuring devices
- 03
Customer-specific customization (customizing)
- 04
Electrochemical testing services in own laboratory
- 05
Sales, service and training worldwide
Test materials and processes
Lithium metal
Reference and counter electrode material for half-cell measurements, processed with ECC-LiPunch.
LiPF6-based electrolytes
Standard electrolytes for building test cells on commission.
LFP (partially delithiated)
Used as a long-term stable reference electrode.
Silicon-carbon composite anode
Anode material for solid-state systems, investigated among others in the SilKompAs project.
Sulfide solid electrolyte
Basis of the solid-state test cells up to 300 MPa.
Anode and cathode materials
Standard consumables of the test laboratory for cycling and impedance tests.
Locations
Hamburg-Harburg
DEHeadquarters, development, production, own battery laboratory
- Materials
- Lithium metal, LiPF6 electrolytes, anode/cathode materials, solid-state electrolytes
- PAT-Tester-i-16
- PAT-Tester-x-8
- PAT-Tester potentiostats (>250 channels)
- MBraun glovebox
- Temperature-controlled test cabinets (-40 °C to +80 °C)
- Keyence VHF 700F digital microscope
- ECD-4-nano electrochemical dilatometer
- EL-Cut punching/cutting tool
- ECC-LiPunch lithium punch tool
- PAT-Cell-Press II cell press
Products and components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrochemical testing services (cycle life and impedance tests on half and full cells)Testing | – | – | – | – | Lithium metal, LiPF6-based electrolytes, Anode materials, Cathode materials |
| Quantification of electrode expansion during charging/discharging (dilatation)Testing | – | – | – | – | Anode materials, Cathode materials |
| Gas pressure analysis / quantification of gas evolution during battery formationTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Measurement of stack force during charging/dischargingTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Visualization of electrode processes by optical microscopyTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| High-throughput testing on hundreds of channels with PAT-Tester high-precision potentiostatsTesting | – | – | – | – | Electrode materials, Electrolytes |
| Three-electrode setups for high-throughput measurements or special applicationsTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Electrode punching and assembly of test cells (punching/assembly)Testing | – | – | – | – | Electrode materials, Electrolytes, Lithium metal |
| Cycle life and CC-CV cycling tests, impedance measurements, cyclic voltammetry with PAT-CellsTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Electrode making from powder to sheetTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Development and production of electrochemical test cells, tools and measuring devices (e.g.Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Customizing of devices and tools, customer-specific solutions for specific experimentsEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Development of a special test cell with heating element (thermal runaway >200 °C) with gas samplingEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
15 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multichannel potentiostat (battery tester) | EL-CELL PAT-Tester-i-16 | – | – | – | Hamburg |
| Multichannel potentiostat (battery tester) | EL-CELL PAT-Tester-x-8 | – | – | – | Hamburg |
| PAT-Tester potentiostats (>250 test channels in the laboratory) | EL-CELL | >250 chann | – | – | Hamburg |
| Glovebox | MBraun | – | – | – | Hamburg |
| Temperature-controlled test cabinets (-40 °C to +80 °C) | – | – | -40 °C to +80 °C | – | Hamburg |
| Digital microscope | Keyence VHF 700F | – | – | – | Hamburg |
| Electrochemical dilatometer | EL-CELL ECD-4-nano | – | – | – | Hamburg |
| Optical test cell | EL-CELL ECC-Opto-10 | – | – | – | – |
| Solid-state test cell (up to 300 MPa) | EL-CELL PAT-Cell-Solid | – | 300 MPa | – | – |
| Standard test cell (2- and 3-electrode) | EL-CELL PAT-Cell | – | – | – | – |
| Force test cell | EL-CELL PAT-Cell-Force | – | – | – | – |
| Gas analysis test cell | EL-CELL PAT-Cell-Gas | – | – | – | – |
| Punching/cutting tool | EL-CELL EL-Cut | – | – | – | – |
| Lithium punch tool | EL-CELL ECC-LiPunch | – | – | – | – |
| Cell press | EL-CELL PAT-Cell-Press II | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
History and projects
- 2022
Dr. Bernhard Bugenhagen (Head of Chemistry Department) joins EL-CELL.
- 2022–2025
Project partner in funded research projects: SimDural, SilKompAs, BiSSFest, KeNab-ART, S³B – among others with BMW, University of Münster, TU Braunschweig, SGL Carbon and Thermo Fisher Scientific.