Case Study: Next Energy achieves accurate thermal modeling to prevent cell damage during manufacturing with COMSOL Multiphysics

Numerical simulation is used to investigate stacking of lithium-ion cells during the fabrication of high-end battery systems

Next Energy (NEXT ENERGY, Germany) faced the challenge of understanding how short, intense manufacturing heat loads—such as welding, laser joining, and hot stacking—propagate into prismatic lithium‑ion cells and whether these processes could irreversibly damage cell internals. To address this, the team used Comsol’s COMSOL Multiphysics software to build and validate a 3D thermal model of a dummy prismatic cell instrumented with eight temperature sensors, enabling virtual probing of internal temperatures that would be difficult, slow, or risky to capture experimentally.

Using Comsol, Next Energy validated the model against physical tests and simulated manufacturing scenarios: tab welding at 1100°C for 4 s produced jelly‑roll temperatures rising to about 138°C (risking electrolyte decomposition and capacity loss), while a 0.2 s laser weld at 1100°C limited interior temperatures to ≤36°C and was judged safe for cell components. Comsol’s simulation capability gave Next Energy a reliable, fast tool to quantify thermal risk, guide process choices, and reduce costly experimental work.

Next Energy

Gerd Liebig

Next Energy