Image: BATTL3This week, Technologieförderung Münster (TFM) marked the start of construction with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony at the site. The new building in Münster Science Park will provide highly specialised laboratory and workspace for companies in the battery sector and ‘further intensify collaboration between research, industry, and startups’, as stated in an accompanying announcement.The building will span six floors and offer approximately 1,600 square metres of laboratory space, providing room for up to five companies—including small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, industrial partners, and international direct investments. The laboratory will be integrated into BatteryCityMünster, alongside existing stakeholders such as IWARU – FH Münster, the Helmholtz Institute Münster, the Fraunhofer facility Forschungsfertigung Batteriezelle FFB, and the MEET Battery Research Center. Completion of BATTL3 is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027.The building will be constructed on a wedge-shaped plot between the Münster Technology Campus on Mendelstraße and Heisenbergstraße. The total investment for the project amounts to nearly €14 million euros, with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the EU contributing €6.75 million euros in funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF/JTF Programme NRW). Technologieförderung Münster will cover the remaining €7.25 million euros from its own resources, with the city of Münster contributing four million euros.Upon completion in late 2027, BATTL3 will become the third laboratory building on the Münster Technology Campus site. It is designed for battery companies collaborating closely with institutions such as the university’s battery research centre MEET, the Helmholtz Institute Münster, the Fraunhofer facility Forschungsfertigung Batteriezelle FFB, and IWARU at FH Münster. The facility will be equipped with chemical laboratories, hazardous material storage, modern ventilation systems, office spaces, and areas for installing a dry room. “Companies, including international partners, can apply for space with TFM,” the announcement states.Volker Ruff, Managing Director of TFM, comments: “With this new building, TFM reinforces its leading role and driving force in the strategic development of an innovative research infrastructure and the BatteryCityMünster brand. Spaces for innovation follow a clear strategic direction to strengthen the local battery systems cluster.”The term battery systems cluster refers to the geographical concentration of research institutions, companies, and other stakeholders in Münster involved in the research, development, and application of energy storage technologies. This cluster is also known as BatteryCityMünster. Ruff adds: “Together with the city, research partners, and companies, we aim to contribute to Europe’s energy transition, sustainability, and autonomy.”In addition to the strong scientific foundation provided by universities and research institutions, “BATTL3 creates the urgently needed infrastructure for the transfer of knowledge and technologies into the economy,” emphasises Dr. Marco Trienes, Managing Director of Wirtschaftsförderung Münster GmbH. “We expect new business locations, the transformation of existing companies and significant impulses for the regional labor market.”wfm-muenster.de, linkedin.com