Battery Research: German-Taiwanese Research Project Launched

A German-Taiwanese research cooperation project was launched at the MEET Battery Research Center of the University of Münster (WWU) on Thursday, 23 November. Until November 2020, eight Taiwanese and ten German research institutions will jointly investigate new materials and combinations of materials that – together with novel cell design concepts – are set to lead to lithium-ion batteries with considerably increased performance and operational safety.

“In battery research, the materials used play a decisive role. They have to be tailored to the application purpose and have a great influence on the battery’s performance,” says Professor Hsisheng Teng from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Both, he and Professor Martin Winter, scientific head of MEET and founding director of the Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS, Institute of Energy and Climate Research Section 12 of Forschungszentrum Jülich, IEK-12), are responsible for the overall coordination of the cooperation.

A research initiative concerning new materials for battery systems (“Batterie DE-TWN”) was launched by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) together with the Taiwanese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). Under its umbrella, three project consortia are being funded, two of which are coordinated by Jülich Professors Olivier Guillon (Institute of Energy and Climate Research Section 1, IEK-1) and Martin Winter.

The official launch ceremony of the initiative, which took place in Münster, was attended by scientists of the universities and research institutes involved as well as representatives of BMBF and MOST. In addition to Martin Winter, Prof. Monika Stoll also addressed the guests in her role as Vice-Rector for Research at WWU: “After having already successfully initiated a cooperation with Israel and Japan, we are proud to now expand our international collaboration over battery research to Taiwan,” she said.

“I am convinced that cooperation between peers, such as this one with Taiwan, benefits the scientists on both sides. Excellent battery research is of fundamental importance for both our nations. This is why I am delighted we today had the opportunity to launch three cooperation projects concerning this very promising topic,” says Dr. Herbert Zeisel, who heads a BMBF subdivision addressing key technologies for growth. Together, BMBF and MOST are providing funding totalling approximately € 6 million.