Construction of FFB Fab facility marks midway point
This week, the site celebrated its ‘Richtfest’ – which, in Germany, is a traditional milestone in construction that takes place once the structural shell is complete and the roof framework has been erected. It’s the latest milestone for the construction site at the Hansa-BusinessPark in Münster-Amelsbüren, which in late April 2025 celebrated its inauguration. Since then, work has focused on the second and largest phase of the Battery Cell Research Production Facility (“FFB Fab”), where production research on a gigawatt scale will soon be possible. The first phase, known as FFB PreFab, has already been completed – more on that below.
First, let’s consider the scale of this project: the federal government and the state are jointly investing around one billion euros in the overall initiative. The federal government is providing up to €750 million euros to establish the research operations, while the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is investing approximately €320 million euros as a client. However, the largest funding recipient and consortium leader of the project is the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. It is delivering the project in collaboration with other local partners: the MEET Battery Research Centre at the University of Münster, the Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) at RWTH Aachen University, and the Helmholtz Institute Münster, a branch of Forschungszentrum Jülich. Additionally, NRW.URBAN is responsible for the construction as the state’s fiduciary.
Since April 2024, the FFB PreFab has been operational in Münster. In this facility, around 140 scientists are advancing industry-oriented production of battery cells. In late 2025, they produced their first electrically functional lithium-ion battery cell there. This marked the first time a complete process chain – from electrode production to a charged cell – was achieved using exclusively European equipment technology. The PreFab focuses on scaling processes from laboratory samples to initial prototypes and small-scale production on a pilot line.
The FFB Fab, under its second construction phase, will operate a much larger footprint: production facilities at a gigafactory scale are being built across more than 20,000 sq. metres in the properties under construction. According to the stakeholders, the two buildings on the approximately 56,000-sq. metre site will together form a facility “that covers the entire journey – from technology maturity in the lab to mass production – under one roof”. Above all, companies will have the opportunity here to test and further develop near-series production processes, new battery cells, and innovative equipment technology. For more details on the differences between the FFB PreFab and the FFB Fab, as well as the hopes and prospects associated with them, Professor Achim Kampker from the FFB’s institute management explained them in an interview with electrive some time ago (DE).
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister President, Hendrik Wüst, commented on the occasion of the topping-out ceremony: “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. This is unique in Europe in the field of battery technologies and once again demonstrates our state’s strength in innovation. And it is a strong offering to industry and to our European partners. North Rhine-Westphalia and all of Germany must remain a leading industrial hub—with technological strength, industrial value creation, and secure jobs.”
Prof. Dr. Axel Müller-Groeling, Executive Director for Research Infrastructures and Digitalisation at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, added: “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 in collaboration with industry. Europe has the expertise and industrial strength; now the task is to consistently translate these into industrial applications and thereby secure competitiveness and technological sovereignty in the European battery value chain.”
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