Suggestions for implementation of Statistical Process Control in Lithium-ion battery processes : A field study at Northvolt

Due to growing awareness of sustainable development and renewable sources of electricity, the public demand for electric cars has increased during the last decade, Lithium-ion batteries are used to power today's electric cars and the batteries are mainly produced in Asia. The need for batteries in the automobile industry in Europe has led to the birth of many new organisations, Northvolt is one of them. The mission at Northvolt is to bring lithium-ion batteries to the European market. The process of producing Lithium-ion batteries is complex and includes several sub-processes that together will generate the final product. The quality of the processes and product are important for performance as well as safety. Statistical Process Control is one way of creating and maintaining good quality. This thesis aims to describe how Statistical Process Control can be implemented in the context of Lithium-ion battery production. To answer the aim, a literature study and a field study were conducted at Northvolt labs in Västerås. The field study collected data through interviews, as well as observations on the different processes in production. A thematic analysis was conducted, the findings resulted in a framework for implementation of Statistical Process Control in the Lithium-ion battery industry. The framework has similarities with other frameworks gathered from literature on Statistical Process Control implementation but differs in some key aspects. A clear emphasis on initial focus regarding training and education is one aspect that contributes to the existing literature and a practical contribution to organisations in the batter production industry. Early focus on process definition and identification of critical-to-quality characteristics are also aspects that are emphasised in the developed framework. The emphasize on these factors are connected to the complexity of the processes of the Lithium-ion battery production