Fraunhofer to set up a new research facility for battery cell production

The project team, which consists of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and its research partners, is now embarking on the first steps to put the FFB concept into practice at the chosen location of Münster in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The ‘Forschungsfertigung Batteriezelle’ (FFB) research facility aims to reduce technological hurdles and investment risks for companies by addressing knowledge gaps and fostering comprehensive expertise along the entire value chain from the production to the recycling of battery cells. To achieve this goal, it will rely on the expertise of local partners at the University of Münster as well as on RWTH Aachen and the Fraunhofer Groups for Materials, Production, Microelectronics, and Information and Communication Technology, a press release reads. The FFB will focus on the production of modern, high-performance energy storage systems – not just for e-mobility, but also for applications in domestic settings, industry, logistics, the energy sector, chemicals, mechanical and plant engineering and robotics. The first part of the project – to establish and put into operation an initial production line – has now been approved by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), which has allocated funding of around EUR 150 million. “Battery technology is tremendously important because it is a key technology for Germany as a hub of research and industry,” says Professor Wolf-Dieter Lukas, State Secretary at the BMBF, in the release. “The German federal government is determined to reinforce the country’s leadership in battery technology along the entire value chain, and the FFB represents a key element in the BMBF’s strategy to achieve this.” Starting in February 2020, the researchers will be working with other colleagues to supervise the set-up of the FFB in the Hansa Business Park in the south of the city. By 2022, the team aims to establish a battery cell research facility that will serve the whole of Germany from this one location spread over some 40’000 square metres. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research has allocated funding of around EUR 500 million to the project, while the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has earmarked over EUR 200 million to support the establishment and operation of the FFB.