International Cooperation "MUST Winter School" a Great Success

High-ranking battery experts from Stanford University (USA) and Twente University (Netherlands) visited the MEET Battery Research Center of WWU Münster and Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS; IEK-12) of Forschungszentrum Jülich.

02 February 2023 – From 24 to 26 January, high-ranking experts from Stanford University (USA) and Twente University (UT, Netherlands) met to discuss the role of energy storage as a global challenge for the energy and mobility transition. As part of "MUST Winter School" (“MUST” stands for the universities of Münster, Twente and Stanford), researchers from MEET Battery Research Center of WWU Münster and Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS; IEK-12) of Forschungszentrums Jülich invited renowned battery researchers such as Prof. Dr Yi Cui (Stanford) and Prof. Dr Mark Huijben (UT) to the MEET premises.

Focus on Materials and Sustainability

To kick off the conference, WWU Director Prof. Dr Johannes Wessels and Prof. Dr Martin Winter, Director of HI MS and MEET, welcomed the 17 international guests. After a welcome reception on Tuesday, lectures on promising perspectives in battery research started on Wednesday.

Among others, Yi Cui, Prof. Dr William Chueh (Stanford), Mark Hujiben, Prof. Dr Jie Zheng (UT) and Prof. Dr Lars Frankenstein (WWU) set a thematic focus with their research activities in the field of anode and cathode materials. Prof. Dr Wolfgang Zeier (HI MS and WWU) and Dr Nella Vargas-Barbosa (HI MS) presented solid and hybrid electrolytes as hopefuls for new battery cell systems. The plenary discussed nano-composites with Dr Sarah Holmes (Stanford) and Prof. Dr Daniel Monteiro Cunha (UT).

The researchers placed a special focus on the areas of sustainability and safety. For example, Dr Sascha Nowak and Dr Philip Niehoff from MEET Battery Research Center spoke about ageing processes, second life and recycling of battery systems.

Methodological suggestions by Prof. Dr Chris Baeumer (UT) and concepts for battery cell production by Prof. Dr Simon Lux (WWU and Fraunhofer FFB) were also not neglected. The lectures were interspersed with breaks and tours of the MEET laboratories.

Starting Signal for Trilateral Cooperation

MUST Winter School is the starting point for the expansion of the cooperation between Stanford, Twente and Münster. "In future trilateral activities, we can jointly cover a large part of the value chain of batteries via the existing expertise. This is very attractive for all participants," explains Martin Winter.

In addition to the professional exchange, six scientists were allowed to sign the Golden Book of the City of Münster at a reception in the Friedenssaal on Thursday afternoon: Martin Winter, Simon Lux, William Chueh, Yi Cui, Mark Huijben and Prof. Dr. Sebastian Thiede (UT). The conference ended with a farewell dinner on Thursday evening at Schloss Wikinghege in Münster.

The interview on MUST Winter School with Prof. Dr Martin Winter can be found here.