Anja Karliczek (CDU), Federal Minister of Education and Research, comments on four new battery competence clusters at a press conference in her ministry. (picture alliance/dpa)
Germany’s Research Minister, Anja Karliczek, plans to further advance the development of batteries in Germany with four new research alliances and another 100 million euros in funding. "Germany and Europe must play in the Champions League internationally in battery technology," said the member of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) on Wednesday in Berlin. She said that battery technology is a key technology of the future and of significant importance for Germany as a location for business and innovation.
According to the Research Ministry, more than 40 universities and research institutions will cooperate in the four competence clusters. The four research areas are: intelligent production of battery cells; energy- and material-efficient production and recycling of batteries; battery utilization concepts; analysis and quality assurance in battery production.
Karliczek emphasized that she works hand in hand with Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier, also a member of the CDU, in the field of battery technology. "Technological sovereignty is ultimately the goal of our joint work."
Last year, the Research Ministry and the Economics Ministry decided that the main center for German battery research should be established in Münster, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The first German battery research factory is to be built there by 2022 at a cost of 500 million euros. The choice of location was strongly criticized by the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg in particular, which wanted the factory to be located in Ulm.
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