AEI

ASIA ELECTRONICS INDUSTRYYOUR WINDOW TO SMART MANUFACTURING

Siemens, Skeleton Eye Fully Automated New Factory

Skeleton Technologies and Siemens have agreed on a far-reaching technology partnership. Particularly, this will dwell on the development and implementation of a fully automated, digital manufacturing of supercapacitors production in Germany.

Accordingly, the production line will rise in a new Skeleton factory in Markranstädt, Leipzig. Furthermore, it will help to reduce production costs by around 90 percent within the five-year project. The collaboration aims to achieve the digitization of Skeleton’s entire value chain – from supercapacitor cell design to production and services. Moreover, it will expand to the production of next-generation supercapacitors.

Rendition of Skeleton’s factory in Leipzig, Germany

Plays Key Role in Reduced Carbon Emission

Siemens will support this through its comprehensive Digital Enterprise portfolio as well as domain know-how in industrial battery cell production. Furthermore, the plans will further expand the business relations between the two companies.

Skeleton’s supercapacitors suit in automotive, transport, grid, and industrial applications. This product allows to reduce CO2 emissions and save energy. Skeleton’s supercapacitors use patented “curved graphene” material. For that reason, they offer the highest power density on the market, almost instant charging and discharging, high reliability, and very long lifetimes.

They contribute to improving power quality and protecting equipment and infrastructure by lowering the power fluctuation, and to powering electrification. “Supercapacitors are key element in dramatically reducing emissions in the power generation, transportation and industrial sectors,” explained Taavi Madiberk, CEO, and co-founder of Skeleton Technologies.

Siemens supports Skeleton as technology partner in the expansion and extension of the production of supercapacitor cells.

Largest, Modern Factory in Europe

The new factory for the next generation of supercapacitor cells in Markranstädt will start production in 2024. The target is for the new factory to produce up to twelve million cells a year. The construction will have two phases. The completion of second phase is in 2025.

To illustrate, the factory’s capacity will be forty times more output than Skeleton’s current production site in Großröhrsdorf. In addition, it will generate 240 jobs.

“With our holistic automation and digitalization portfolio, we can use the appropriate tools and our industrial know-how together with Skeleton, from greenfield planning to factory simulation and optimized high-end production, to realize a highly efficient, fully automated production line that is unique in the world,” stated Guido Feind, Head of Siemens Digital Industries Germany.

“Skeleton already has a strong business relationship with Siemens, but thanks to this partnership, we will now also benefit from their world-class expertise in electrification, automation and digitalization to expand our manufacturing,” said Dr. Linus Froböse, Chief Operating Officer of Skeleton Technologies. “This ramp-up will allow us to meet market demand for our next-generation products and make our new factory the largest and most modern supercapacitor factory in Europe.”