MEET Battery Research Center and Helmholtz Institute Münster celebrate 10plus5 years
Two research institutions have made Münster a globally renowned location for battery research: ten years ago, the MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Münster was founded, five years later, the Helmholtz-Institute Münster of Forschungszentrum Jülich. Around 150 guests were greeted yesterday (18 September) at the double jubilee celebrations, including high-ranking representatives of city, state and federal politics.
Impressions and o-sounds about the MEET anniversary can be found in the picture gallery.
Milestones since the foundation of MEET:
2009: Groundbreaking ceremony for MEET at Corrensstraße 46
2010: 40 scientists begin to fill battery research with life.
2011: The MEET building is completed. A core element is the drying room, as an absolutely dry environment is required for research on battery materials and for cell production. At the same time, the Competence Center "Battery" of ElektroMobilität NRW, based at MEET, will be established.
2012: An event for medium-sized companies is transformed into the MEET Akademie, a successful event format focusing on the exchange between practice and research.
2013: The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) provides more than 16 million euros for the establishment of an electrolyte laboratory.
2014: Foundation of the Helmholtz-Institute Münster (HI MS), an institution of the Forschungszentrum Jülich: WWU, Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University pool their expertise here.
2015: Cells are tested in the new battery safety laboratory on the Leonardo Campus.
2018: Prof. Dr. Martin Winter, scientific leader of MEET and founding director of HI MS, receives the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class.
2019: Münster wins the "Research Manufacturing Battery Cell" location competition. The application was submitted with the support of the NRW Ministry of Culture and Science, the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitization and Energy and under the leadership of MEET together with the PEM Institute and the WZL Institute of the RWTH Aachen and the HI MS. MEET and HI MS will also celebrate their birthdays in September.
More than 70 patents and 900 publications
The MEET Battery Research Center (Münster Electrochemical Energy Technology) of the WWU, which was founded in 2009, currently brings together 140 employees from various scientific and engineering disciplines in basic research and industrial application. The building of the MEET Research Center covers approximately 2,500 square meters of floor space. Around 21 million euros in funding were provided by the WWU and federal and state ministries. The research projects are also supported by the University of Münster, various federal and state ministries, the European Union and the German Research Foundation (DFG).
MEET scientists cooperate closely with the Helmholtz-Institute Münster (HI MS). This institute was founded in 2014 and today unites 75 employees at the three locations Aachen, Jülich and Münster under one umbrella, who research on novel electrolyte systems and their application in advanced battery systems. The research is supported by funding from the EU, federal and state ministries and industry.
Within ten years, the MEET/HI MS scientists have presented their research results in more than 900 publications, produced more than 70 patents and patent applications and received around 60 awards.