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Batteries are a part of people’s everyday lives. We routinely rely on them as the power supply for electric vehicles, laptops and smartphones. This makes research and further development of this key technology all the more important.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Münster have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on advanced battery materials. In a ceremony at Argonne, the MOU was signed on July 8 by Argonne Laboratory Director Paul Kearns and professor Johannes Wessels, rector of the University of Münster, with German Science Minister Ina Brandes in attendance.
“Argonne’s partnership with the University of Münster has the great potential to make pivotal discoveries and transformative advancements. Working together, I’m confident that we can achieve an even greater impact for a clean-energy future.” —Paul Kearns, Argonne laboratory director
“The United States and Germany share a strong interest in advancing the batteries that can further the electrification of our economy,” Kearns said. “Argonne’s partnership with the University of Münster has the great potential to make pivotal discoveries and transformative advancements. Working together, I’m confident that we can achieve an even greater impact for a clean-energy future.”
Argonne is recognized as a global leader in energy storage research. Its cutting-edge science has enabled electric vehicles to travel farther and renewable energy to be integrated into the nation’s electric grid.
Located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the University of Münster hosts the Münster Electrochemical Energy Technology (MEET) Battery Research Center. MEET is a global research leader in battery materials, cells and electrochemistry. Its 150 scientists are developing sustainable, high-performance batteries for the future.
In 2019, the DOE and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research convened 18 U.S. and German institutions to collaborate on lithium battery research. Argonne, the University of Münster and the University of Ulm lead the initiative. The new MOU builds on this collaboration.
The MOU outlines collaborative opportunities to expand battery knowledge and accelerate breakthrough discoveries. Planned activities include materials research, seminars, conferences, exchange of personnel, and joint publications.
“The signing of this MOU builds on years of cooperation and takes this institutional collaboration to a new level,” said Wessels. “We are excited to apply our battery research expertise in climate transformation projects with one of the most renowned national laboratories in the U.S.”
“North Rhine-Westphalia is a key science and business hub for the development of battery energy storage technologies,” said Brandes. “Society relies on batteries in every aspect of life. For example, we use them in smartphones, in cars and as a safe storage device for renewable energy when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.”
Brandes added: “With MEET and other battery-related facilities, North Rhine-Westphalia offers optimal conditions to develop innovations, accelerate technology transfer and produce at an industrial scale. It’s a great success story that leading research institutions from America are joining this thriving research community.”
Adapted in part from press release by Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.
Courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory
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