New International Battery Research School
The Ministry of Science of North Rhine-Westphalia is funding the Graduate School BACCARA with 9.5 million euros over five years.
Long range for electric cars, effective energy storage from renewable energy – PhD students in Münster research on these present challenges at the new graduate school. The International Graduate School for "Battery Chemistry, Characterization, Analysis, Recycling and Application" (BACCARA) was inaugurated on August 5, 2020 at MEET Battery Research Center of the University of Münster (WWU). Founding partners of BACCARA are Helmholtz Institute Münster of Forschungszentrum Jülich, MEET Battery Research Center and the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy of University of Münster. The State of North Rhine-Westphalia is funding BACCARA with 9.5 million euros over five years.
“Supporting young scientists is essential for the further success of battery research in Münster and, therefore, of particular importance for the government,” emphasized the Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen delivering the funding notice. “I sincerely hope that BACCARA will be found as an important part of biographies of many successful young researchers, who develop sustainable batteries of the future.” She thanked the director of HI MS, Prof. Martin Winter, and his partners at WWU, who “developed the project with great commitment”.
“The research along the whole value cycle of the battery, from the material conception to the complete battery cell, is unique at BACCARA”, underlined Winter. The combination of basic and applied research is another distinct feature. “With the new graduate school we are recruiting further excellent, international talents to Münster,” said Prof. Frank Glorius of the Organic Chemistry Institute of WWU, who will direct the graduate school together with Winter.
About the new Graduate School BACCARA
The International Graduate School for "Battery Chemistry, Characterization, Analysis, Recycling and Application" (BACCARA) was founded by the HI MS of Forschungszentrum Jülich, MEET and the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy (both WWU) on July 1st 2020. Three groups (cohorts) with 15 PhD students each are planned, the first group will start in the fourth quarter 2020 – the promotion follows at the end of the three-years-program. The school is open to chemists and materials scientists with all specializations.
The research program covers the fields of materials science, (macro-)molecular chemistry, electrochemistry, catalysis and battery cell research for energy storage as well as life cycle analysis and recycling. Additionally, data analyses, simulations, machine learning, artificial intelligence and the networking of human being and machine (industry 4.0) are used.
For further information about BACCARA please click here.