The FoFeBat project to establish the Fraunhofer Research Fab Battery Cells FFB falls within the “Battery Research Factory” umbrella concept of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Under this concept, the BMBF has brought together its funding for battery technologies in various competence centers and clusters. The aim of the FoFeBat project, and thus the Fraunhofer Research Fab Battery Cells FFB, is to accelerate the innovation and commercialization process of production technologies for existing and future battery cell formats. The initiative focuses primarily on gaining experience in operating a large-scale research factory in order to acquire expertise in this area and close any gaps in knowledge.
Barely two years after the project launched, the Fraunhofer Research Fab Battery Cells FFB has now met all the prerequisites for becoming an independent Fraunhofer institution. For example, a core group of permanent staff now exists in Münster, along with an organizational structure and related procedures for making decisions and implementing the associated actions. Gaining the status of an independent Fraunhofer research institution is an important step on the road to conversion into a Fraunhofer Institute in the future. Following this change, the Fraunhofer Research Fab Battery Cells FFB has been renamed the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB, or Fraunhofer FFB for short.
Acquisition of industry projects
In addition to the project sponsorship, the research institution plans to acquire further projects in the field of pre-competitive research and industry projects in the future. As an independent entity, Fraunhofer FFB is now ideally placed to gain a greater understanding of industry requirements, primarily through industry projects, and realign the service portfolio offered by Fraunhofer FFB.
“To achieve the ambitious goals set out in climate policy, it is essential to translate the latest research results into practical application. The production and development of energy storage technologies plays a decisive role in this regard. As the link between science and industry, the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB will serve as the central research and production infrastructure for empowering industry to engage in the economic and ecologically sound production of battery cells,” says Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. “The conversion of the Fraunhofer Research Fab Battery Cells into an independent Fraunhofer research institution is a logical step and underlines the importance of the research factory for battery cells for the future viability and sovereignty of Germany as a high-tech location.”
“The independence of Fraunhofer FFB is an important milestone in establishing the Münster location,” says Prof. Jens Tübke, Acting Head of Fraunhofer FFB. “It will enable us to respond even more flexibly to research requests and implement our own projects. Our independence also serves as a strong signal to our employees, who identify strongly with the project.”
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft