Energy storage of tomorrow: Minister of Science Marion Kiechle inaugurates the Bavarian Centre for Battery Technology (BayBatt) at the University of Bayreuth
The next generation of safe, intelligent, and sustainable energy storage systems will soon come from Bayreuth: today the Bavarian Minister of Science, Prof. Dr. med. Marion Kiechle, introduced the new Bavarian Centre for Battery Technology (BayBatt) at the University of Bayreuth. Over the next five years, Bavaria will invest 25 million euros in the development of BayBatt and create a total of 114 new jobs, twelve of which will be professorships. At BayBatt, batteries will be researched and enhanced on an interdisciplinary basis as interacting, intelligent systems. This centre at the University of Bayreuth is currently the only one of its kind in Germany.
"Electric mobility is the future. Unfortunately, however, Germany has fallen behind in battery technology. For this reason, we are setting up a research and development centre for battery technology at the University of Bayreuth." This was announced by Minister President Markus Söder in his government statement on 18 April. In just six months, the scientists at the University of Bayreuth have managed to lay the groundwork for this major task. Today the Bavarian Centre for Battery Technology (BayBatt) at the University of Bayreuth was inaugurated by Minister of Science Prof. Dr. med. Marion Kiechle. "The founding of BayBatt is the logical scientific and economic policy response to current and future energy and mobility issues - a flagship project for the Upper Franconian region in the future-oriented scientific field of battery research and development," the Minister said.
As part of a five-year plan, the Bavarian state government intends to invest 25 million euros in the construction of BayBatt and create 114 new positions at the University of Bayreuth, including twelve professorships. "BayBatt is designed to build bridges between the research institutions working on battery materials on the one hand and the engineering professors and research departments of major automotive and equipment manufacturers working on complete systems on the other. The research groups involved in battery technology are also linked in a variety of ways with businesses in the field within the scope of joint projects or industrial contracts, which ensures a rapid transfer of findings into practice," explained Minister Kiechle at the opening ceremony of BayBatt.
"With its current expertise, the University of Bayreuth is already well-positioned in the field of storage technologies and was thus predestined for this new centre," explained Provost Dr. Markus Zanner. "Thanks to the decision of the Bavarian state government, we now have the chance to bundle and massively expand these strengths." There are currently about 20 groups working on relevant topics in various disciplines and faculties. These activities will now be bundled in the new Bavarian Centre for Battery Technology (BayBatt), and new professors and working groups will be added.
As the only centre of its kind in Germany, the research and teaching in BayBatt will be dedicated to the entire value-added chain of batteries including materials, intelligent systems, networked storage, and battery safety. Scientists representing subject areas in four faculties at the University of Bayreuth are involved in BayBatt: Physics (Faculty of Mathematics, Physics & Computer Science), Chemistry (Faculty of Chemistry, Biology & Earth Sciences), Information Systems Management (Faculty of Law, Business & Economics), and Engineering (Faculty of Engineering Science). "With this interdisciplinary approach, the University of Bayreuth is overcoming the separation into disciplines that has been characteristic of the Germany's scientific community up to now," reports Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Danzer, Chair of Electrical Energy Systems and Director of BayBatt. "There are already research institutions for battery materials on the one hand, and engineering professors at universities and industrial research institutions focusing on complete energy systems (automobiles and others) on the other. In Bayreuth, however, the new Bavarian Centre for Battery Technology will conduct interdisciplinary research and development at the intersection of materials science, electrochemistry, engineering, information technology, and economics."
The centre has four scientific priorities: safe high-performance materials, interface phenomena and transport processes, intelligent batteries, and networked battery storage. One important aspect is the IT and economic embedding of networked battery storage in complete energy systems. A bachelor's and master's degree programme in battery technology and battery system technology will be developed to train the next generation of scientists. In addition, the Campus Academy plans to develop a continuing education programme in 'battery technology' for graduates with a background in engineering or the natural sciences. In addition, Provost Dr. Zanner explained that "the aim is to create an 'innovation ecosystem' in the field of battery research and development." For this reason, the new centre will encourage technology transfer and industry contacts in its various fields of activity and will support new business models, start-ups, and spin-offs