Current rapid growth of the e-mobility sector is driving demand and innovation in the manufacture of batteries. This is particularly evident in the development of laser-based processes for battery cell manufacturing. Whether its cylindrical, pouch or prismatic all battery cells require foils to be cut. Industrial demands are quite demanding and varied due to complexity of the foil materials as well as the electrode designs, making it a challenge to identify the most appropriate laser technology. Requirements range from the slitting of thin bare metal foils to profiling of coated materials where both bare foil and coated material need to be cut. The materials break into anodes and cathodes each posing different challenges as manufacturers require highest possible processing speeds with the highest possible edge quality. Pulsed lasers are becoming the tool of choice, while many foils can be adequately cut with ns lasers some material combinations benefit from shorter ps pulses. This contribution gives a broad overview of the challenges of laser cutting of battery foils and explores the pros and cons of ns vs ps for different materials. The analysis focuses on achievable processing speeds as well as cut edge quality and looks at a variety of laser parameters such as pulse duration, pulse energy and peak power. The influence of laser parameters such as spot size, working fields and processing strategies are discussed. This work shoes that choices are not always straight forward, and users are left to balance the need between Cost – Quality – Productivity.