The German city of Münster has been chosen to host a new national battery production research factory, in the country’s quest to increase its “competitive edge” in the global electrochemical storage technology market.
Federal education and research minister Anja Karliczek said federal and state authorities would invest a total of €700 million (US$790m) in building the centre, in the northwest of the country, following a nationwide competition announced earlier this year.
Karliczek has said the facility will “accelerate the transfer of new battery concepts and production processes into practice”. The factory will offer companies the chance to “test their battery concepts for mass production”.
The construction of the facility “can begin almost immediately”, Karliczek said in a statement. The facility will be built on part of Münster’s Hansa Business Park, which is said to have excellent regional road and rail links.
Prof Dr Achim Kampker of RWTH Aachen University, one of the supporters of the project, said: “Serial production of large battery cells in Germany represents a missing link in important value chains which involve energy storage applications – such as electromobility. The production research centre will allow us to forge the necessary technological expertise to achieve this.”