In recent years electric vehicles (EV) have become very popular and the number of EVs on the road reaches new heights year after year. Batteries are now also widely used in other industries and in various use cases. Therefore, the battery cell manufacturers and battery assembly companies are seeing very high demand for their products. Gigafactories are popping up. Accordingly, in terms of revenue, the global battery market was estimated at $111.86 billion in the year 2021 and is projected to reach $423.90 billion by 2030, growing with a CAGR of 16.68%.[1]

Numerous innovations in chemical recipes for battery cells and in production engineering show that the battery industry has a lot of momentum.

Electrification and power storage are recognized as a crucial driver for environmental sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint.

E2E process of circular battery management

Cell and battery manufacturers are also tightly connected with partners in preceding and succeeding steps of the E2E value chain i.e., mining, processing, active material production, EV assembly & usage and end-of-life. Raw materials are sourced from distant locations.

Governments not only see battery technology as major drivers for their domestic economies and have started to fund the settlement of Giga Factories, but also have picked up the topic of battery lifecycle management to mitigate end of battery life cycle issues.

Along with this brilliant future come some challenges for the industry to achieve the planned targets and growth in a structured approach

• Growth: Successfully execute steep growth plans e.g., scale production, hire and onboard new employees,
• Many battery companies are start-ups. As enablement, they need a robust process framework and reliable business applications.
• Sourcing: Supply chains for key cell ingredients and battery components are becoming tighter and less reliable.
• New regulations: Comply with upcoming regulations e.g., for battery passports, supply chain due diligence, …

SAP provides an End-2-End business solution for battery companies i.e., for cell manufacturers in the process industry and for battery manufacturers in discrete industry or for any other companies involved in the E2E process of circular battery management. This SAP solution portfolio comprises capabilities for all required business capabilities:

Core capabilities for widely industry agnostic corporate processes

• Corporate processeslike finance, HR, procurement, logistics, asset management, plant maintenance, planning, etc..

Cross-industry solutions addressing

• Traceability. Tracking all ingredients of the battery from mining to the finish goods.
• Sustainability. Create a clear understanding of what is the carbon footprint of your products.
• Supply chain due diligence. Ensure sustainable product ingredients and components.

Industry-specific solutions for cell and battery manufacturers with serialization

• Battery Passport and traceability along the entire battery lifecycle. Lifecycle information from serialization in manufacturing to recycling and disposal at end-of-life.

Based on SAP’s experience from 25 industries, the corresponding solution portfolio and battery-specific solutions, SAP can address all key capabilities relevant for companies in the E2E battery value chain.

The portfolio comprises solutions for fundamental capabilities e.g., in Finance, Procurement, Planning and Human Resources, but also more advanced capabilities for the industry-specific value chain e.g., Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Sustainability. Regulatory and legal requirements from authorities like Battery Passport or Supply Chain Due Diligence are also part of the solution portfolio.

SAP solution capabilities for Battery Management

As an added value, SAP solutions come with Best Practices and standard processes.

Here you can leverage SAP’s experience from former deployment projects in the battery industry.

Business process for Cell Manufacturing and corresponding SAP solution capabilities

SAP cloud deployment enables companies to pick solution capabilities considering their individual needs and priorities. It will cope with individual capability and capacity needs.

It can be deployed and will be ready-to-run in weeks, rather than in months!

A quick glimpse on how it could look like for your battery business:

Please do not hesitate to reach out to start the conversation. More than happy to connect and charge your battery business!

[1] https://inkwoodresearch.com/reports/battery-market/

A big thank you to my colleagues Klaus Pütz & Stephan Fester for putting together the content for the post!