Waygate Technologies and Liminal Insights have announced a strategic partnership to develop an integrated multi-modal inspection solution for battery manufacturing, bringing together complementary non-destructive testing (NDT) technologies.
The collaboration focuses on combining industrial computed tomography (CT), radiography, and ultrasound-based inspection with artificial intelligence analytics to address a key challenge in battery production—detecting defects across the full manufacturing lifecycle. Industry data indicates that a significant proportion of EV battery cells contain anomalies, while no single inspection method is capable of identifying all failure modes.
Under the agreement, the companies will jointly explore technology development, including co-engineering of next-generation probes and integrated inspection services. Waygate Technologies will also serve as the preferred channel and integration partner for deploying Liminal’s EchoStat inspection system in high-volume battery manufacturing environments, including gigafactories.
The integrated approach combines CT systems for quality assurance and failure analysis, including nano CT for material characterization and high-energy CT for module-level inspection, with ultrasound-based in-line inspection supported by AI-driven analytics. The Krautkrämer ultrasound portfolio from Waygate Technologies will be integrated with Liminal’s proprietary array probe technology and signal processing systems to develop a next-generation ultrasonic testing platform for production-line deployment.
By leveraging multiple NDT modalities—CT for detailed imaging, ultrasound for real-time screening, and machine learning for process feedback—the solution is designed to enable earlier defect detection, reduce scrap rates, and support data-driven manufacturing optimization.
“Even a fraction of a percent yield improvement at gigafactory scale translates to tens of millions in annual savings,” says Paul Perera, Director of Strategy, Technology & Partnerships at Waygate Technologies, a Baker Hughes business. “The goal of combining the unique strengths of both companies is to significantly increase productivity for our customers.”
"Multi-modality is the future of battery inspection. Waygate Technologies' global installed base and deep NDT heritage make them the ideal partner to scale our EchoStat in-line inspection systems,” adds Shaurjo Biswas, CEO, Liminal Insights. “Together, we offer battery manufacturers a single-source inspection solution from R&D through volume production that no competitor can match today."
The partnership has already been validated through a proof-of-concept programme conducted at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry, where more than 400 battery cells were evaluated using the combined CT and ultrasound workflow. The results demonstrated measurable improvements in inspection performance, including increased defect detection rates and cost efficiencies compared to single-modality approaches.
With the commissioning of new production lines at UKBIC, the integrated inspection workflow is expected to be further validated under production-representative conditions, supporting deployment across commercial battery manufacturing operations.
