Q&A: Waygate Technologies outlines the importance and future of the Battery Inspection Forum

“Many of the attendees are not non-destructive testing (NDT) experts, they are cell and battery experts, so in many cases, we are starting from first principles regarding NDT techniques.”

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Next week, Waygate Technologies, a Baker Hughes business, will host the second edition of its Battery Inspection Forum from 13-14 November. The non-destructive testing (NDT) software specialist has already teased the event which will be hosted in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Now, Manufacturing Quality was given the opportunity to sit down with Neil Bloomfield, Global Battery & Automotive Segment Leader at Waygate Technologies, to get the inside scoop on the event. We discussed how the event has evolved since the first edition, what attendees can expect this year, and Bloomfield also confirmed the future of the Battery Inspection Forum.

MQ: Following on from the first edition of the Battery Inspection Forum last year, what can we expect from this year’s instalment?

NB: We are very excited about this year’s event and anticipate that it will be even bigger. The agenda for our second Battery Inspection Forum has a much more international flavour, with speakers from the United Kingdom, Germany and the Czech Republic. Sign-ups for the event have been brisk with most of the North American automotive companies represented along with cell manufacturers, universities, the US Department of Energy National Laboratories, an air taxi company and many more.

MQ: What topics from non-destructive battery cell testing do you expect to be the most widely discussed at the event?

NB: This event has a broad agenda, focusing on areas such as the latest battery inspection technologies, battery safety and failure mitigation, the optimisation of cell and battery performance, battery recycling and the optimisation of battery manufacturing. Defect detection is of great importance. A 1% reduction in scrap rate in an average 20GwH giga factory can for example save a company millions of dollars. But we will also sprinkle in some lighter topics. Our keynote speaker from the Central European Institute of Technology, CEITEC, from the Czech Republic, will speak about computed tomography (CT) X-ray scanning a battery-powered surfboard. All in all, guests can look forward to two days filled with a varied and entertaining program.

MQ: Did Waygate Technologies learn anything from the Battery Inspection Forum last year that has influenced any design or production processes since?

NB: Last year, we asked attendees to complete a questionnaire after the event. The input we received led us to increase the number of hands-on tutorials and reduce the number of presentations. We are also having tutorials both afternoons rather than just on the second day. Attendees really appreciated this interactive part of the program and having access to multiple industrial CT X-ray solutions, the Scanning Electron Microscope from our partner Thermo Fisher Scientific, and ultrasonic testing offerings. We are also excited that we will be able to show off our latest CT X-ray system, the Phoenix V|tome|x M300 Neo which has just arrived from Germany.

MQ: A wide variety of solutions are expected to be on display at the event. What do you hope attendees will take away from gaining “hands-on experiences” with them?

NB: Many of the attendees are not non-destructive testing (NDT) experts, they are cell and battery experts, so in many cases, we are starting from first principles regarding NDT techniques. We share how the inspection technologies work, what they can show and how they are being utilised by existing customers (without breaching confidentiality, of course). The hands-on experience really emphasises the breadth and capabilities of the systems. Each year selected customers have brought along their own samples so that they can have one-on-one sessions with our dedicated Battery Application Engineering experts.

MQ: Looking ahead to the future. What can we expect from the following editions of the Battery Inspection Forum, if there are to be more?

NB: Even though this is only our second event, the Battery Inspection Forum is already established as an annual event with a dedicated following. We will definitely host more of them. After the success of last year, we already took this event on the road. Last year we held a similar event in China. We are likely to repeat that again in another region of the world in the first half of 2025. For the NAM event, we anticipate it will continue to follow the most demanding and relevant issues facing cell and battery inspection. The internal combustion engine is over 200 years old and is still evolving and still creating new inspection challenges; the Lithium-Ion battery is just 50 years old, and we have only just started the electrification of the planet in all sorts of ways. There will be a need for the Battery Inspection Forum for years to come!