New Helmholtz Institute in Münster

Researchers will investigate electrochemical storage systems / Close cooperation with MEET

A new boost for top-level research at Münster University (WWU): The Helmholtz Association has decided to set up an institute in Münster. The “Helmholtz-Institut Münster” (HI MIS) is a cooperative venture of the Forschungszentrum Jülich and the RWTH Aachen together with Münster University. The researchers at the new institute aim to study electrochemical energy storage systems as an important prerequisite for new energy strategies. The Helmholtz Association will fund the new institute with more than 5.5 million euros annually for personnel, running costs and investments. The North Rhine-Westphalian science ministry will also support the founding of the institute with start-up financing of altogether 11 million euros spread over five years.

With the MEET battery research centre, Münster University already has a prestigious facility that focuses on energy storage, an area of great future importance. The Helmholtz Association made its decision after a commission of international experts had carried out an intensive examination of the three partners in this cooperative scheme. The commission adjudged the plans to be “scientifically excellent”. It said the expected results had the potential to achieve the hoped-for breakthrough for electromobility, while also increasing the reliability of the strongly fluctuating electricity production from renewable energy sources to improve the public energy supply. “By working together closely with the Münster University, we are creating a research institute that will make vital contributions to the socially important field of energy supply to the public and industry,” the president of the Helmholtz Association, Prof. Jürgen Mlynek, said.

With the work at the new “HI MS”, the partners will also be linking in with the materials research carried out by the WWU's Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy. The researchers will focus especially on the examination of electrolytes and their behaviour in electrochemical energy storage systems such as batteries. At MEET, electrolyte research is already a core activity, and one that recently gained in importance, as the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the establishment of an innovative electrolyte laboratory. “This important branch of research will be consolidated by the Helmholtz Institute,” the founding director of “HI MS”, Prof. Martin Winter, who is also the scientific director of MEET, said. “We are delighted to have the Forschungszentrum Jülich and the RWTH Aachen as two strong partners at our side.”

The “HI MS” and MEET will cooperate closely to exploit synergy effects. WWU Rector Prof. Ursula Nelles has also emphasised this potential. “With the scientists from the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy and above all from the MEET battery research centre, the Münster University will contribute excellent research to this new partnership. I am certain that the Helmholtz Institute in Münster will give a new and pioneering impetus to the field of energy storage and electromobility.”

Electrolyte: As an ion conductor, the electrolyte is what enables current flow between the negative and positive poles to occur, thus making it possible for a battery to function at all. As it has a large impact on the safety and lifespan of the system in particular, it plays a key role in research. It is hoped that the results of the work at the “HI MS” will help improve energy storage devices for mobile and stationary applications, thus accelerating the breakthrough of electromobility and making it possible to make optimal use of fluctuating renewable energy sources.

Helmholtz Institute: The “HI MS” is the seventh Helmholtz Institute. The institutes appoint their leading scientists together with the partner university. By creating research networks with relevant local and national partner institutes, the Helmholtz Institutes establish themselves as focal points in their respective scientific area. With almost 34,000 staff in 18 research centres and an annual budget of around 3.8 billion euros, the Helmholtz Association is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. Its work continues the tradition of the naturalist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894).