The race to manufacture the batteries of tomorrow is in full swing. To help a European company position itself among the leaders, a former Apple researcher is developing specific tools.
We talk about it regularly in our columns when we address the theme of electric cars. The technological advancement that will change the face of the sector will concern battery. Ultra-fast chargingincreased capacity for superior autonomymaterials more economical and ecological… On paper, everything is there to make clean vehicles a real alternative to thermal versions. The fact remains that the various proposals on the subject are at the state of conceptsor at best prototypes far from being ready for mass production.
Siddharth Khullar wants to accelerate this. Until recently, he was at Apple. For more than 6 years, the engineer has worked on features of theApple Watch and performs research related to sleep tracking or autonomous driving. Expert in artificial intelligencehe joined the Swedish company Northvolt in 2022. If this name is unknown to you, know that it is the firm which developed the first sodium battery in the Old Continent. This revolutionary technology is also present in China through CATL.
Former Apple employee uses AI to boost manufacturing of tomorrow’s batteries
All 18 members of Siddharth Khullar’s team are specialized in AI. It is with his help that they seek to save Northvolt time. At the main factory located in Skellefteå, slightly below the Arctic Circle, researchers implemented sensors and software using AI to improve production and testing phases. “We think that in some areas we could save up to 50% in latency, which means we could run twice as many experiments with the same number of people,” says Khullar.
Artificial intelligence is being applied to as many fields as possible: chemistry, battery design, manufacturing… Ultimately, it could replace mandatory manual inspections, numbering around 4000. There is no question of doing without employees, that said. Siddharth Khullar wants to be reassuring: “AI will not be able to replace 10 years of work on a specific process in the chain. But we can help them search for knowledge, summarize it, prepare content, analyze tons of numbers and show them patterns to make better decisions.”
Source: Bloomberg