Battery cell production "made in Europe" starts in Münster

In Münster, researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough in the production of "made in Europe" battery cells. At the Fraunhofer Research Production Battery Cell (FFB), a project team produced an electrically functional lithium-ion cell for the first time using an entirely European process chain. The cell was constructed at FFB PreFab, the first expansion stage of the large-scale research facility that began operating in 2024. 

As an open research platform, PreFab enables companies and research institutions to test their own materials, processes, and plant modules and integrate them into a self-contained battery cell production system. The facility is part of Germany's high-tech agenda, which promotes the development of competitive key technologies and expands European expertise in manufacturing battery cells. The second construction phase, FFB Fab, is currently underway and will add approximately 20,000 square meters of production and research space to the existing infrastructure by the end of 2027. This will enable industry-oriented production research on a gigafactory scale. 

The FFB Fab aims to help companies and research institutions transfer results to series production more quickly. This includes material handling, process integration, quality control, and digitalization. Mona Neubaur, the NRW Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, described the move as a "milestone for NRW as a location for strong European battery value creation." The European network's goal is to establish battery production within a circular economy by 2035.