Home News ASPİLSAN Energy Hosts Dr. Rachid Yazami, Renowned for His Work in the Field of Lithium-Ion Batteries

ASPİLSAN Energy Hosts Dr. Rachid Yazami, Renowned for His Work in the Field of Lithium-Ion Batteries

by Can Kılınç

You can read the special coverage published in the November 2019 Issue of MSI Turkish Defence Review here:

 

Moroccan scientist Dr. Rachid Yazami, known for his critical role in the development of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, and as the inventor of the graphite anode, one of the main components of such batteries, visited ASPİLSAN Energy facilities on October 3–4. Dr. Yazami held meetings with company officials, during which they discussed topics that may shed light on Turkey’s future in this field, ranging from consulting to technology transfer.

 

Left to Right: Ahmet Altınay, R&D Manager at ASPİLSAN Energy; Ferhat Özsoy, General Manager of ASPİLSAN Energy; Dr. Rachid Yazami and Meryem Chfiri, his assistant; and Gökhan Demirci, R&D Director at ASPİLSAN Energy

Left to Right: Ahmet Altınay, R&D Manager at ASPİLSAN Energy; Ferhat Özsoy, General Manager of ASPİLSAN Energy; Dr. Rachid Yazami and Meryem Chfiri, his assistant; and Gökhan Demirci, R&D Director at ASPİLSAN Energy

 

As a guest of ASPİLSAN Energy, Dr. Yazami participated in the Electrochemistry Conference 2019 held in Istanbul on September 30–October 2, and moderated various sessions during the event. Dr. Yazami’s first stop after the conference was ASPİLSAN Energy’s R&D Centre in Ankara, where he examined up close the company’s works on the materials used in battery technologies. Later, he visited ASPİLSAN Energy’s Kayseri facilities and observed the point achieved by the company in the field of batteries and battery production. During the visit, ASPİLSAN Energy executives and Dr. Yazami discussed many different topics, including the potential for cooperation.

ASPİLSAN Energy is continuing its investments in Kayseri on an approximately 24,000 square metres of land that it purchased recently, where it is planning to establish Turkey’s first lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery production facility. Dr. Yazami holds a number of patents in the field of battery technologies, for which he holds the intellectual property rights.

Among the most important issues discussed during the visit was how to transfer Dr. Yazami’s experience to ASPİLSAN Energy through technology transfer, with talks between the parties in this regard set to continue.

Dr. Rachid Yazami exchanged opinions with the R&D team of ASPİLSAN Energy.

Dr. Rachid Yazami exchanged opinions with the R&D team of ASPİLSAN Energy.

 

Dr. Yazami Impressed with ASPİLSAN’s Progress

Taking time out of his busy meeting schedule in Turkey, Dr. Yazami was kind enough to answer questions posed by MSI TDR. Accepted as a doyen in the field of Li-ion batteries, Dr. Yazami said that he was very impressed with ASPİLSAN Energy’s ongoing activities. He stated that he is quite open to collaborations and that they were working with ASPİLSAN Energy to find the right business model.

Dr. Yazami said that if the discussions end up with a positive result and an agreement is reached on the business model to be used for the transfer of his experience to Turkey, ASPİLSAN Energy will gain the ability to produce batteries that can offer 20 percent more performance than the existing batteries in the world. He said that he held important technologies especially for the Li-ion batteries used in the military field, and that he is ready to share this knowledge and experience with ASPİLSAN Energy.

Commenting on Dr. Yazami’s visit, Ferhat Özsoy, General Manager of ASPİLSAN Energy, said: “We are one of Turkey’s most competent companies in the field of battery technologies. The visit of such an important name, whose expertise is accepted by the whole world, is an indication of the maturity of the activities carried out by ASPİLSAN Energy in this field. It also proves that our ongoing investments into battery production in Kayseri are on the right track. We hope that our talks bear positive results, and that we can bring to Turkey technologies that can shed light on the future of our country, taking advantage of Dr. Yazami’s experience and know-how.”

Resim1Eng 

Initial Capacity: 2 Million Batteries Per Year

ASPİLSAN Energy aims to produce different cylindrical Li-ion battery cells at its Kayseri facility, where installation works are underway. The ground-breaking of the facility, which will have an indoor area of 17,000 square metres, is scheduled for this year, and production is planned to start in March 2021.

The company will initially produce cylindrical batteries, such as the 18650-26650 and 20700-21700 family, as those are the most widely used batteries in the world. In the following phases, the production of next-generation special batteries of the pouch and prismatic types will be commenced. The facility will pave the way for the production of indigenous and national batteries for the Energy Storage Systems that are critically needed by the energy sector, and for consumer electronics to be used in the civilian market, in addition to those for critical defence systems. The initial capacity of the technologically advanced production facility will be approximately 2 million battery cells per year, with plans to increase production in line with market demand.

The need for indigenous batteries by both the defence and aerospace sector and the civilian market make these investments even more vital. By boosting battery production in Turkey, new lines of business and employment areas will also be created. Stressing how important it is for Turkey to gain the ability to produce its own batteries, Özsoy said: “First of all, I would like to emphasise that batteries are among the most sought-after products in our country, both in the military and civilian sectors, and this need is met only through imports. Having said that, indigenous battery production is actually a more challenging and serious project than thought to be. No batteries, aside lead acid ones, have been produced in our country since the 1990s, and since they cause environmental problems, their use is decreasing gradually. Battery production in Turkey came to a complete halt between 1960 and 1990 following Turkey’s switch to a free market economy in the 1980s, as the raw materials used in battery production were imported and expensive, and there was an influx of cheap batteries of Chinese origin. There is still no electrochemical battery production in Turkey, other than production involving the integration of imported batteries with each other.”

Adding that despite all the difficulties, ASPİLSAN Energy would not hesitate to shoulder responsibility in this regard, Özsoy said: “Another point is that our country, in terms of the supply chain, is far from the raw materials and other critical subcomponents used in battery production. That said, we have focused on this investment taking into account all these factors, and have already achieved a level of maturity that is sufficient to put our investment into practice, following four years of serious efforts. We hope that our country’s foreign dependence in this field will soon be eliminated.”

 

With the completion of its investment in Kayseri, ASPİLSAN Energy will start using the cells of its own production, in the ASPİLSAN-made batteries.

With the completion of its investment in Kayseri, ASPİLSAN Energy will start using the cells of its own production, in the ASPİLSAN-made batteries.

 

Annual Battery Imports: $65 Million

Stating that Turkey is an importer of batteries, aside from lead acid ones, Özsoy noted that annual imports by weight amount to over 8,000 tons, amounting to over 40 million units. Commenting on these figures, he said: “In 2016, Turkey spent $65 million on the import of batteries. We predict that when Li-ion batteries start to be produced in our country, the foreign dependence of all sectors, as well as the current account deficit, will decrease, and a notable level of import substitution will be achieved. In other words, we believe that if we consider our investment from different perspectives, it will become an asset with both economic and strategic qualities, and will provide significant returns to our country.”

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