Three Million Euros in Funding to Research Green Battery Technology

Minister Pinkwart presents grant notifications for GrEEn project, a collaborative effort between the University of Münster and RWTH Aachen University

The University of Münster (WWU) and RWTH Aachen University are to receive federal state funding for the GrEEn research project, which is focused on the research of environmentally friendly battery technology. Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister of Economy, Innovation, Digitization and Energy for the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, presented grant notifications totalling € 3 million in Düsseldorf on 19 September.

© MWIDE NRW/V. Stößel

High-performance batteries enable significant progress to be made for a successful transformation of the German energy sector (Energiewende). For the production of battery cells, however, materials and processes are used which have a high environmental impact. In the collaborative project GrEEn (Green Electrochemical Energy storage systems), scientists at WWU (scientific management and leadership at MEET battery research centre) and RWTH Aachen University, in cooperation with Helmholtz Institute Münster and Forschungszentrum Jülich, research the production of electrochemical storage systems that predominantly use organic biological raw materials as well as environmentally friendly parameters and processes.

“In addition to economic conditions, the future potential of renewable energy is particularly dependent on innovations. By placing a focus on non-hazardous substances, the project of Münster and Aachen is providing an important stimulus,” said minister Pinkwart, underlining the significance of the research approach.

Alongside the University of Münster and RWTH Aachen University, the University of Duisburg-Essen has also received a grant notification to prepare a study documenting the potential offered by the flexible use of conventional power plants as part of the Energiewende.

Gruppenfoto Übergabe Zuwendungsbescheid
Minister Andreas Pinkwart (4th from the left) with Dr. Falko Schappacher (technical head of business administration MEET), Dr. Adrienne Hammerschmidt (project management and administration MEET), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus Görner (University of Duisburg-Essen), Prof. Dr. Egbert Figgemeier (RWTH Aachen University and Helmholtz Institute Münster), and Dr. Simon Dühnen (MEET) (from left to right)
© MWIDE NRW/V. Stößel