Producing innovative battery materials in Germany: ZSW inaugurates “Powder-Up!” pilot plant

Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and Ministerial Director Michael Kleiner from the Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism visit Ulm

The production of innovative high-performance batteries for electric vehicles and stationary storage systems has taken an important step forward in Germany.
On May 2, 2024, a pilot plant was inaugurated at the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) in Ulm, enabling the production of innovative battery materials and their precursors on a scale of up to 100 kilograms outside of industry for the first time in Germany.
Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and Ministerial Director Michael Kleiner from the Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism were present at the inauguration.
Construction of the facility began in December 2022.
It was supported with funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
The new construction of the nationwide beacon of German battery research called “Powder-Up!” was financially supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

“The new Powder-Up! production facility for the manufacture of high-energy and environmentally friendly battery materials is a central building block for the development of a competitive and sustainable battery value chain in Germany and Europe.
This will also further advance technological sovereignty in the field of battery production.
German battery research is excellent, now we need to improve the transfer to application and create new, innovative infrastructures for this.
With the Powder-Up! pilot plant at the ZSW in Ulm and the battery cell research production facility in Münster, a coherent research ecosystem for the development of innovative battery technologies ‘Made in Europe’ is being created in Germany.
This research infrastructure strengthens Germany’s position as a leading location for battery production.
Now it is up to the industry to use this offer for a rapid market ramp-up,” emphasizes Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger.

Michael Kleiner, Ministerial Director at the Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism, emphasized: “With the state funding of a total of 10 million euros, we are making an important contribution so that the ZSW can further expand its position as a leading application-oriented battery research center.”

“The performance of lithium-ion batteries mainly depends on the materials used. With the “Powder-Up!” pilot plant, such cathode materials can now be produced for the first time outside of industry in a near-series environment,” says Prof. Dr. Markus Hölzle, Head of the ZSW in Ulm. “We are proud to be able to offer this manufacturer-independent development platform to our partners from industry and science. Only industry-proven machines are used in the new four-storey powder-up building in order to guarantee successful product manufacturing under near-series conditions.”

Producing cathode materials close to industry

New materials are initially tested in small battery prototypes.
If the results are successful, however, significantly larger quantities of material will quickly become necessary.
Until now, these could only be supplied by the large industrial manufacturers, who do not usually produce in Europe and are rarely willing to give their best products to universities or other research institutions.
Powder-Up now closes this gap.

The powder-up pilot plant has a usable area of 2,400 square meters and covers all production steps for the manufacture of high-energy and environmentally friendly battery materials.
This includes a precipitation plant for precursors, high-temperature heat treatment and various post-processing options.
New chemical laboratories and high-precision analytical measuring equipment are also integrated.
The new systems make it possible to quickly produce different product samples and test them just as quickly.
Digitized process steps, including the associated product analytics, are intended to further shorten development cycles in order to quickly improve the use of resources, product yield and battery performance.

The materials produced in “Powder-Up!” – the focus is on innovative cathode materials – can then be used in pilot plants at research institutes or by battery manufacturers for development purposes.
Batches of up to 100 kilograms are possible.
Only this amount of material enables the construction of full-size batteries, as would later be used in vehicles, for example.
Powder-Up is also used to research individual production steps and the machines used for this.
Through this work, Powder-Up also supports the German mechanical engineering industry, from which almost all the machines and systems originate.

The state of Baden-Württemberg is financing the Powder-Up building with 10 million euros.
The pilot plant with all plant components, the building and safety technology as well as the necessary analytics is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with 24 million euros.

Investment, innovation and industrial cooperation

The scientists at ZSW have been researching functional materials for batteries and supercapacitors for over 35 years.
They therefore have extensive experience in the development and processing of customized powders and pastes.
One focus is on the design of innovative battery cells without the use of critical and environmentally harmful raw and auxiliary materials, but also on battery cells with increased safety.

Since 2014, ZSW’s facilities in Ulm have also included a large pilot line for the industrial production of lithium-ion cells up to 80 ampere-hours and, since 1998, a battery safety and test center recognized throughout Europe, where the performance of batteries and, in particular, new battery prototypes is evaluated under the most extreme conditions.
This also includes deliberately caused battery fires in the safety bunkers available at ZSW.
The research and implementation of recycling processes for production waste and metals from used lithium-ion batteries round off the activities.

Thanks to continuous and generous funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the state of Baden-Württemberg, a robust ecosystem for battery production has been established in Germany in recent years.
The ZSW plays a key role in technology transfer.
Today, more than 100 experts at the ZSW in Ulm are working on innovative components for the next generations of battery cells.

About the ZSW

The Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) is one of the leading institutes for applied research in the major topics of the energy transition: Photovoltaics, wind energy, batteries, fuel cells, electrolysis, eFuels, circular economy, policy advice and the use of AI for process and system optimization.
Together with industry, we pave the way for new technologies to enter the market.
More than 300 colleagues and around 100 scientific and student assistants work at the ZSW locations in Stuttgart and Ulm.
The ZSW operates a test field for wind energy and another test field for PV systems.
The ZSW is a member of the Baden-Württemberg Innovation Alliance (innBW), an alliance of ten business-related research institutions.

Photos of the inauguration are available via this link: https://energie.themendesk.net/zsw/