On 13th February 2019 the Minister of Science and Culture, Björn Thümler, visited the three research centers of the TU Braunschweig on sustainable mobility. In addition to the Automotive Research Centre Niedersachsen (NFF) and the Open hybrid LabFactory (OHLF), the minister visited the Battery LabFactory Braunschweig (BLB), a center for R&D on electrochemical storage devices. Participants included the BLB executive board members Prof. Arno Kwade, Prof. Christoph Herrmann, Prof. Ulrike Krewer, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, president of the TU Braunschweig, Mr. Ulrich Markurth, Lord mayor of the City of Braunschweig and Mr. Klaus Mohrs, Lord mayor of the City of Wolfsburg.
After providing a general overview of the BLB and its important role as a R&D-center for current and future batteries, the production chain installed at the BLB was presented to Mr. Thümler. The production chain in BLB covers all processes from initial material conditioning, electrode manufacturing leading to battery cell assembly and characterization. It further includes the assembly of battery modules and packs for electric vehicles. Finally, the activities performed in the BLB in the field of environmental sustainability were introduced. This his involves the consideration to the whole life cycle of a battery system from the extraction of materials through its production, usage and recycling. Other topics included standardization and safetyAccording to Thümler, the region of Braunschweig/Wolfsburg has become a "beacon of mobility research in Germany" because of research institutions such as the BLB.