Mayor, Municipal Utilities, and Fraunhofer FFB Commission Agri-Solar Park

From the cornfield to battery research

From now on, a field in Hartmannsbrook, Amelsbüren, will no longer be used solely for grow-ing grain: a new agri-solar plant will also generate solar power on the site. Mayor Tilman Fuchs, along with representatives from Stadtwerke Münster and Fraunhofer FFB, gathered at the solar park for the official commissioning. “This project shows what is possible when a city works together on its future. Business, agriculture, Stadtwerke, and citizens are all pulling together here and demonstrating their ability to shape Münster’s future,” emphasized Mayor Tilman Fuchs.

© Michael Möller
Fraunhofer FFB Institute Director Prof. Simon Lux, Mayor Tilman Fuchs, and Stadtwerke Managing Director Sebastian Jurczyk are delighted with Münster’s first agri-solar park.

Energy Project for Climate, Security of Supply, and Local Economic Impact

Since fall 2025, an agri-photovoltaic plant has been under construction on the 13.2-hectare site along Hartmannsbrook Road. It produces approximately 5.75 gigawatt-hours of solar power annually. What makes it unique is that the land surrounding the plant can continue to be used for agriculture: crops for food and animal feed will grow between the structures in the future. The public had the opportunity to participate in the project in March - through a public equity offering that sold out within two days.

Münster’s municipal utility now delivers the solar power via a direct line to “FFB PreFab,” located in the Hansa Business Park, the first research factory of the Fraunhofer Institute for Battery Cell Research and Production (FFB). “The Agri-Solar Park shows that renewable energy production and agriculture don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Here, it’s not an either/or situation, but a true ‘and’: the land provides food and solar power at the same time,” says Sebastian Jurczyk, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Münster. “These are exactly the kinds of solutions we need if we want to jointly strengthen supply security, climate protection, and regional value creation.”

© Fraunhofer FFB.
Up to 40 percent of the electricity needs of Fraunhofer FFB’s first research factory, “FFB PreFab,” are met by solar power from the new PV system.

Direct connection to battery production

Within the Fraunhofer Society, the conclusion of a long-term electricity supply contract with Stadtwerke Münster, a municipal utility, is unique to date. At the same time, Fraunhofer FFB is specifically using the facility as a research platform. Among other things, the project is investigating how electricity generation and consumption can be better predicted and shifted over time to use energy more efficiently. Based on current production technology, approximately 20 to 40 kilowatt-hours of energy are required to produce one kilowatt-hour of battery cell capacity. The high electricity demand in battery cell production stems from complex manufacturing steps and strictly controlled production conditions. “This makes access to regional electricity all the more important for us, so that we can design these processes to be sustainable from the very beginning and pave the way for green battery cells,” says Professor Simon Lux, Director of the Fraunhofer FFB.

The Agri-Solar Park in Amelsbüren:

The modules of the agri-photovoltaic system are spread across two sites along Hartmannsbrook Road, covering a total of 13.2 hectares. The structure covers only about 12.7 percent of the agricultural land. The rest is available for growing grain, rapeseed, and field beans. The plant produces approximately 5.75 gigawatt-hours of solar power annually - an amount that could theoretically supply around 1,650 households each year. It is mounted on low-profile racks and designed as a so-called 2P-tracking photovoltaic system. Sensors ensure that the solar modules are optimally aligned with the sun at all times of the day to capture maximum sunlight.

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