Battery Hub in North Rhine-Westphalia: Jochen Ott, Chair of the SPD Caucus in the North Rhine-Westphalia State Parliament, Visits Fraunhofer FFB

In recent years, Münster has developed into one of Europe’s leading battery hubs. Jochen Ott, Chair of the SPD parliamentary group in the North Rhine-Westphalia State Parliament, and Sven Frenck, SPD candidate for the State Parliament in Constituency III in Münster, got a firsthand look at the contri-bution made by the Fraunhofer Institute for Battery Cell Research and Pro-duction (FFB) during a visit to the Münster-Amelsbüren site. Dr.-Ing. Florian Degen, head of the Production Technology Department at Fraunhofer FFB, guided the guests through the “FFB PreFab” research production facility and provided insights into industry-oriented battery cell production.

© Lena Ueberfeldt
1 The “FFB PreFab” research facility in Münster-Amelsbüren features approximately 6,800 square meters of research space and is equipped with innovative European machinery technology. During a factory tour, Jochen Ott, the lead candidate for the NRW SPD, and Sven Frenck, SPD state parliament candidate for the Münster III constituency, spoke with Dr.-Ing. Florian Degen, head of the “Production Technology” department at Fraunhofer FFB, about the importance of battery research in Germany as a key to the future of industry and the energy transition. From left to right: Jochen Ott, lead candidate for the North Rhine-Westphalia SPD, and Dr.-Ing. Florian Degen, head of the “Production Technology” department at Fraunhofer FFB.
© Lena Ueberfeldt
At “FFB PreFab,” technology is brought from the laboratory to the production line. Dr.-Ing. Flori-an Degen, head of the “Production Technology” department at Fraunhofer FFB, explains the manufacturing steps for producing battery cells to Jochen Ott, the leading candidate of the NRW SPD, and Sven Frenck, SPD state parliament candidate in the Münster III constituency.

Münster. Building in-house expertise in battery cell production is crucial for the successful transformation of the mobility and energy sectors in Germany. In this context, Münster plays a special role as a hub of innovation: “With the Fraunhofer FFB, Münster is developing a research infrastructure whose significance extends far beyond North Rhine-Westphalia. Here, scientific findings and industrial applications are closely intertwined,” said Jochen Ott, the SPD’s top candidate in North Rhine-Westphalia. “Battery research, in particular, is key to the future of our industry - from the automotive sector to the energy transition. The Fraunhofer FFB helps bring new technologies into industrial practice more quickly. This sustainably strengthens the competitiveness and resilience of our industrial hub and makes us less dependent on international supply chains, such as those from China. Our goal is clear: We must strengthen our own innovation and technological capabilities.”

During a tour of “FFB PreFab,” Jochen Ott and Sven Frenck gained firsthand insight into the setup of the fully digitized pilot line and the research work being conducted at Fraunhofer FFB. The first construction phase (“FFB PreFab”) has been in operation in Münster-Amelsbüren since spring 2024. Currently, around 140 employees work here every day to test new battery technologies under industry-standard conditions and to further develop them for large-scale industrial production. With the completion of the second construction phase (“FFB Fab”), production research on a gigafactory scale will also be possible in the future. Together, “FFB PreFab” and “FFB Fab” are set to bridge the critical gap between basic research and industrial-scale series production.

Cutting-edge research in #BatteryCityMünster

Fraunhofer FFB is embedded in a strong battery ecosystem: Together with MEET (Münster Electrochemical Energy Technology) at the University of Münster, the Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS) at Forschungszentrum Jülich, and other partners , #BatteryCityMünster brings together expertise across the entire battery value chain. The geographical and disciplinary proximity of basic research, application-oriented development, and industry-oriented scaling creates short communication channels and strengthens Münster as a research and technology hub.

Federal and State of North Rhine-Westphalia Funding

The State of North Rhine-Westphalia is investing approximately 320 million euros in Münster for the land and research buildings. The BMBF is also providing up to 750 million euros in funding for the construction of the research facilities and the research projects. Together, the two partners are thus making a major investment in the future viability of Germany as an industrial hub and in a key component for strengthening Europe’s technological sovereignty in this field of the future.

Download

Last modified: