Dry-electrode R2R equipment investments in the US and Europe were announced in the same week. On August 19, 2026, Forge Nano (US) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a battery manufacturing facility in Morrisville, North Carolina, with manufacturing equipment to be brought in sequentially over the next two years as part of a defense supply-chain strengthening effort. In Europe, Germany’s UniverCell announced it raised EUR 30 million to expand lithium-ion cell production based on dry-coating technology; as of its April 2026 progress update, dry cathode extrusion, R2R coating/UV curing, and R2R lithium-metal deposition processes have all been converted to pilot scale.
Mechanical-Design Impact Analysis
The dry-electrode process eliminates the drying oven because there is no slurry solvent, but rolling load in the extrusion/calendering section increases instead. Where the wet slot-die line’s design variables were tension and drying temperature, the dry line’s design variables are roll-gap rigidity and dust-scatter control. In a dusty environment, dust-explosion prevention equipment (dust collection, grounding, explosion-proof rating) under Korea’s Occupational Safety and Health Act must be reflected from the initial enclosure design stage of the rolling section — reflecting this early lowers the likelihood of an ECO compared with a later retrofit. Because roll gap directly reflects dry-film thickness deviation, crown compensation design to suppress roll-shaft deflection becomes more important than in the wet process. Since the US approach centers on defense supply-chain security and the European approach centers on R2R process maturity, the priority of requirements at equipment order time is likely to differ between the two. Control/software-based process monitoring is referenced here only as a boundary condition for this design.
Spec Comparison Table
| Category | US (Forge Nano) | Europe (UniverCell) |
|---|---|---|
| Announcement date | 2026-08-19 | 2026-04 (progress disclosure) |
| Location | Morrisville, North Carolina | Germany (undisclosed) |
| Core process | Dry electrode (estimated scope, details undisclosed) | Dry cathode extrusion, R2R coating, UV curing, R2R Li-metal deposition |
| Investment scale | (undisclosed) | EUR 30 million |
| Equipment install schedule | Sequential over next 2 years (undisclosed) | — |
One-line summary: The US is pushing electrode equipment investment along a supply-chain security axis, while Europe pushes along a dry R2R process-maturity axis — both axes are variables that must be reflected in domestic equipment export spec-response strategy.