Press releases

By 2030, the volume of end-of-life batteries and materials to be recycled is expected to triple. At the same time, the complexity of return streams is increasing, for exam-ple due to different battery types, designs, and chemical compositions. A joint study by the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB, the Institute of Business Chemistry at the University of Münster, Porsche Consulting GmbH, and Volkswagen AG shows that, for recycling companies, the key priorities now are to scale up existing recycling processes in an economically viable manner and to pre-pare in a timely manner for the significantly more diverse return streams of the fu-ture. The results have now been published in the world-renowned journal “Nature Energy.”

Münster. Batteries made in North Rhine-Westphalia - innovative, sustainable, and climate-friendly: Since 2024, "FFB PreFab", an open research factory, has been driving forward industry-oriented battery cell production. Now, the Fraunhofer Institute for Battery Cell Research and Production in Münster is visibly taking shape.

The Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB is once again strengthening the transfer of research into industrial applications: The institute’s third spin-off project is already in the starting blocks. To this end, Professor Achim Kampker is moving from the institute’s leadership to the newly formed company and will focus in the future on building it up to produce semi-finished products and battery cells in close collaboration with Fraunhofer FFB. Prof. Jens Tübke and Prof. Simon Lux will continue to lead Fraunhofer FFB.

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.

Industrial battery cell manufacturing has become a key strategic issue for Europe’s competitiveness. Against this backdrop, Institute Director Prof. Simon Lux will discuss key challenges and prospects for European battery cell manufacturing with representatives from industry and politics at the world’s leading industrial trade fair. In addition, Fraunhofer FFB will demonstrate how applied research, digital production concepts, and connected factory solutions accelerate the transfer of research results to an industrial scale.

With the SIB:DE ENTWICKLUNG funding project, the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) is launching the largest German consortium to date dedicated to sodium-ion battery technology. Twenty-five partners from academia and industry are collaborating to develop a sustainable, safe, and cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The focus is on the production of large-format, market-ready cells as well as the assessment of recyclability. The goal is the rapid transfer of research results into industrial applications.

Researchers used AI-supported patent analysis to show how strongly battery technologies build upon one another. The findings suggest that industrial and innovation strategies must account for these technological dependencies far more rigorously.

In European battery cell production, large-scale cleanrooms and dry rooms create significant cost disadvantages compared to Asian competitors. The startup initiative Syvairo addresses this challenge with a patented intralogistics solution known as a mobile mini-environment, achieving a reduction in energy consumption of more than 50 percent. With funding approved under the EXIST Research Transfer programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the spin-off from Fraunhofer FFB is now transferring this technology into industrial application, paving the way for competitive battery production “Made in Germany.”

In Münster, a significant milestone has been reached in the commissioning of the first research factory “FFB PreFab” (1st construction phase): The Fraunhofer Research Production Battery Cell FFB has produced its first electrically functional lithium-ion battery cell. This is the first time that a continuous process chain has been realized using exclusively European plant technology, from electrode production to charged cells.

On the occasion of the status meeting of the project “FoFeBat” (short for “Forschungsfertigung Batteriezelle”), the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB welcomed its project partners as well as representatives of the funding agencies in Münster on November 25 and 26, 2025. The two-day meeting took place for the first time at the main site of Fraunhofer FFB in Münster-Hiltrup. The focus was on the exchange regarding the current status of the FoFeBat project, the progress of the PreFab ramp-up, as well as insights into various research projects and the further development steps on the way to the “FFB Fab”.