Press releases

The Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB (Fraunhofer FFB) and the engineering service provider PEM Motion GmbH have signed a Letter of Intent confirming their plans to advance technological developments in battery cell production through joint research and development activities.

Whether in drones, laptops or electric cars, battery cells can be found in numerous devices that make our everyday lives easier and more efficient. At this year's "A-level ... and now?" information day on Wednesday, May 22nd, organized by the Chemistry Student Group at the University of Münster, students were given an insight into the world of research. The focus was not only on theoretical knowledge, but also on an experiment that illustrated how a battery works.

Today in Münster, a significant step was taken in the research and production of sustainable, resource-efficient battery cells with the inauguration of the first phase of the Fraunhofer Research Fabrication Battery Cell FFB, known as "FFB PreFab". Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister-President Hendrik Wüst, and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft President Prof. Holger Hanselka opened the facility, which spans approximately 6,800 square meters of research space. With this launch, Fraunhofer FFB begins research activities at the site, utilizing cutting-edge European machinery technology.

Digitalization makes the production of batteries for electric vehicles cheaper and cleaner. This is a key finding of a new research report Fraunhofer FFB and Accenture are presenting at Hannover Messe 2024. Leveraging digital solutions, a battery cell factory with an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt hours can save up to 27 million euros and reduce its emissions by nearly 10% per year.

Münster. The Fraunhofer FFB has started the fourth sub-project of the "Research Production of Battery Cells" project ("FoFeBat" TP4). Together with other partners, including the Chair of “Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components” (PEM) at RWTH Aachen University, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Justus Liebig University (JLU) Giessen, the University of Münster and other Fraunhofer institutes, Fraunhofer FFB is working on the integration of key technologies for sustainable and efficient battery cell factories of the future in this research project. Solid-state batteries are taking centre stage.

Canada plays a key role in establishing sustainable supply chains for batteries. The country has minerals and metals required to produce high-performance battery cells. On 20 February 2024, a Canadian delegation from the fields of research, development and battery cell production visited MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster and the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB to explore cooperation opportunities for a resource-efficient supply chain of these materials and to get to know Münster as a battery location more intensively. The tour of the "PreFab" was a successful conclusion.

Countries around the world are developing political strategies for battery technologies or adapting them to global developments. In this context, a new study by Fraunhofer ISI, commissioned by the BMBF, analyses the various battery policies and objectives with a focus on three areas of battery technology research: lithium-ion, solid-state and alternative batteries. The report analyses the following countries: Japan, South Korea, China, the USA, Europe, and Germany.

Fraunhofer ISI, Fraunhofer FFB, Kompetenznetzwerk Lithium-Ionen-Batterien (KLiB) and VDMA are supporting the SynBatt research projects for intelligently networked, sustainable large-scale battery cell production as part of the "BETSY" funding initiative.

Münster, Germany. On the occasion of the "FoFeBat" status meeting, the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB (Fraunhofer FFB) invited its cooperation partners to the Seehotel Krautkrämer near the "FFB PreFab" in Münster-Amelsbüren on November 22 and 23. During the two days, the partners were informed about the progress of the battery cell research production as well as about current and planned projects in the "FFB PreFab".

Münster/Hamburg. The exponentially growing demand for battery cells , which are a key technology for electromobility and the storage of renewable energy, can only be met if production is ramped up over the next few years. However, the construction of a gigafactory poses particular challenges for factory planning. In order to reduce risks and simplify commissioning, Metroplan and the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB have developed a framework for planning and implementing battery factories in line with requirements. To this end, the development process of a battery factory, from the search for a location to stable production operation, was divided into four main phases, for each of which the core challenges are identified and dedicated solution approaches are described. The aim is always to optimize the four main criteria of quality, costs, sustainability and flexibility. The key messages from this development process are now being published in a joint white paper. The publication, entitled "Requirements-based factory planning in the battery production environment", is rounded off with a current practical example in which some of the tools developed were applied and their effectiveness validated.