German battery alliance
German companies including Volkswagen, BASF, Bosch and Li-Tec are to invest €360m in a project to develop high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

is among the founding members of an alliance of German industries that have joined forces to develop high-performance lithium-ion batteries.
The idea for the project was presented during the Innovation Congress in
The alliance for innovation among BASF, Bosch, Evonik Degussa, Li-Tec, STEAG Saar Energie and Volkswagen used the congress to suggest a common start on a lithium-ion initiative to the Federal Minister for Education and Research, Dr Annette Schavan.
The project’s is to substantially increase the energy and performance density of lithium-ion batteries and to accelerate the possible use in production.
‘In the future, there will be parallel use of various automotive drive systems, all the way to purely electric drive. A high-performance lithium-ion battery as the energy carrier will be a key technology,’ said Dr Juergen Leohold, head of group research at Volkswagen. ‘Therefore, it is sensible and necessary to combine the potentials for the research and development of this battery in an alliance for innovation. For Volkswagen, this initiative is an important step on the way to zero-emission operation of vehicles.’
Register now to continue reading
Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.
Benefits of registering
-
In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends
-
Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year
-
Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox
BEAS funding available to help businesses cut energy costs
And not a moment too soon, if the following exchange broadcast last Friday 13th June, on the Radio 4 ´Rare Earth´ program (link below, ~ 17 minutes...