With a funding of 13.5 million euros from the Free State of Thuringia a new Battery Innovation and Technology Center (BITC) was opened this summer in Arnstadt, Germany. The opening marks an important step in the expansion and networking of activities in the field of battery and energy storage technology in Thuringia. As a new site of the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS, the BITC is linked to one of the largest battery research institutes in Germany and has access to strong ties to the economy. Over the next five years, the state of Thuringia is supporting the development of the center into a European flagship for energy-efficient and resource-saving battery production. The State Development Corporation of Thuringia (LEG) has acquired the building complex with approximately 5000 m² of office and technical space for use by Fraunhofer IKTS.
Green light for batteries: Thuringia's Minister of Economics Wolfgang Tiefensee (right) opens the Battery Innovation and Technology Center in Arnstadt in the presence of Fraunhofer President Prof. Reimund Neugebauer (left) and Fraunhofer IKTS Institute Director Prof. Alexander Michaelis (in the back). The Fraunhofer IKTS site researches new energy storage technologies.