rss-en

With the Battery Production Days, the organizers of the successful Electric Vehicle Production Days are setting a new focus: battery production. For the first time, the Campus Forum, the PEM Chair at RWTH Aachen University, and Fraunhofer FFB invite visitors to #BatteryCityMünster on October 21 and 22, 2025. The focus will be on the key technology of batteries. You can look forward to an exciting exhibition and a top-class conference with sessions on topics such as "Innovations in the manufacturing process", "Scaled battery cell production" and "Quality assurance and modern factory planning".

Producing batteries for electric cars requires a complex and globally networked supply chain. In a recent study, researchers from Fraunhofer FFB and the University of Münster analyzed the ownership structures and geopolitical dependencies along this supply chain. The result: China controls almost the entire value chain of lithium-ion batteries - from the extraction of raw materials to the production of the batteries. The People's Republic not only controls domestic production facilities but also those abroad - for all raw materials and downstream processes. No other region globally has comparable control along the entire battery supply chain.

In the ‘SkaleD’ project, five research partners from industry and research are further developing a process that directly coats electrodes in industrial battery cell production. This will reduce the costs and resources used in the mass production of lithium iron phosphate cells, replace solvent-intensive processes, and create the conditions for a sustainable energy transition as well as for European competitiveness in relation to Asian markets.

For the operation of the first research factory, the “FFB PreFab”, the Fraunhofer FFB has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the "Stadtwerke Münster". Starting November 1, 2025, the municipal utility company will supply 6.36 gigawatt hours of regional green electricity annually via a direct connection to the Fraunhofer FFB. The electricity will come from the first agri-photovoltaic system in Münster, which is being built southwest of the Amelsbüren district in Hartmannsbrock Street.

As the year draws to a close, we look back on a period full of dynamism, innovation and growth. It is a moment to pause and reflect on the progress we have made together. On behalf of the entire Fraunhofer FFB, we wish you a happy and relaxing festive season and a happy new year!

Up to 200 players from research and industry are expected to attend the 2024 “Week of Electric Mobility” from October 21st to 25th and the 12th edition of the “Electric Vehicle Production Days” (EPT) on October 23rd and 24th in Aachen to discuss challenges and trends in the field of batteries, fuel cells and hydrogen technologies, as well as electric motors. At the event, organized by the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production (FFB), the Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) of RWTH Aachen University and the Campus Forum, around 80 companies will present innovations in eight themed sessions and at an accompanying exhibition.

The ramp-up phase of a gigafactory for the production of battery cells, modules and packs for electromobility and other applications is crucial to its subsequent success. In the jointly published white paper “Mastering Ramp-up of Battery Production”, Fraunhofer FFB and the Chair of “Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components« (PEM) at the RWTH Aachen University provide information on strategies and resources for an efficient and successful ramp-up of a gigafactory.

To recover phosphate from existing sources such as wastewater or farm manure and reuse it in lithium-ion batteries, MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster initiated the project SuSyPhos (short for: Sustainable Synthesis and Recycling of Phosphorus-containing Materials in Lithium-Ion Batteries). Together with the FH Münster ─ University of Applied Sciences, the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB, the Institute for Business Administration at the University of Münster and BeTeBe GmbH, the Münster-based research institute will be investigating the entire supply chain of the raw material over the next three years. The project covers the recycling of the phosphate, its processing and its use in batteries. It is being funded with around 2.5 million euros as part of the innovation competition “GreenEconomy.IN.NRW”. The Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the European Regional Development Fund provide equal amounts of funding.