The €6 million investment is at the heart of the company's recent headquarters expansion in Reggio Emilia, which added 2,200 sqm for a fully automated area for battery module assembly.
The new in-house assembly line will be able to produce 90,000 prismatic cell modules per year across 13 configurations, delivering fully tailored solutions for customer applications in the industrial vehicle and GSE sectors.
It also completes Flash Battery's in-house production consolidation process, with the company now having direct control over welding and assembly activities which were previously outsourced to external suppliers.
“Bringing battery module assembly in-house means going directly to the source of the supply chain,” said Marco Righi, CEO and Founder of Flash Battery. “For cells, we rely on leading global suppliers, selecting multiple providers for each type in order to increase supply chain reliability and enhance our negotiating power. Recent geopolitical and economic developments have confirmed the importance of having direct control over production to reduce lead times and supply issues.”
A four-phase automated production process
The line operates through four core automated phases:
1. Cell loading and automated inspection, using optical inspection systems and high-precision sensors
2. Module formation, with robotic stacking and placement of components into a containment structure for subsequent welding
3. Laser welding of frames and bus bars, which connect the cells for a durable and efficient electrical connection
4. Final compliance testing, including safety, insulation, and mechanical resistance tests. Only modules that pass all tests are labelled and sent to Flash Battery’s battery pack assembly lines
