Construction of the Fraunhofer Research Manufacturing Battery Cell (FFB) facility in Münster has reached its halfway point, marking another milestone in the development of one of Europe’s largest battery cell research centers.
The project celebrated its traditional German Richtfest ceremony after completing the structural shell and roof framework of the FFB Fab, the second phase of the facility, which will provide approximately 39,000 square meters of research infrastructure for battery cell production.
Gigawatt-Scale Battery Research
The FFB project is backed by around €1 billion in funding from Germany’s federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The federal government is contributing up to €750 million, while the state is investing about €320 million.
Led by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the project also involves the MEET Battery Research Centre at the University of Münster, RWTH Aachen University’s PEM Chair, and the Helmholtz Institute Münster.
The first phase, FFB PreFab, has been operating since April 2024, supporting pilot-scale battery production. In late 2025, researchers produced their first electrically functional lithium-ion battery cell using an entirely European production process.
The larger FFB Fab will expand research to gigafactory-scale production, allowing companies to develop and validate battery manufacturing technologies before commercial deployment.
North Rhine-Westphalia Minister President Hendrik Wüst said the project strengthens Europe’s industrial competitiveness.
“With the Fraunhofer FFB, the federal and state governments are addressing a key industrial policy challenge: bridging the gap between research, pilot projects, and industrial scaling.”
Fraunhofer Executive Director Axel Müller-Groeling said the facility will help translate research into industrial manufacturing.
“With the FFB Fab, we are systematically translating excellent research into industrial-scale production and creating an infrastructure in which battery cell technologies are tested, further developed, and prepared for industrial application.”
