Battery start-up incubator launches at TUM
Investment in Germany's technological sovereignty
To strengthen Germany's technological sovereignty in the field of battery technologies, the Battery Start-up Incubator (BaStI) is being established at TUM. Funded with 3.3 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), BaStl, as an integral part of the TUM Venture Labs, will support and advise start-up applicants from all over Germany in the first phase. The aim is to accelerate the market entry of new battery technologies from research and thus reduce dependence on imports.
TUM Venture Labs CEO Dr. Philipp Gerbert emphasizes: "Batteries are key to the energy transition and electromobility, but so far, at least 70% of global production comes from China. This dependency harbors risks we want to overcome through the targeted promotion of domestic initiatives. Germany has an enormously strong research position in this field, but the transfer to commercial enterprises is weak. With BaStI, we are creating for the first time a Germany-wide networked ecosystem that supports technology-oriented start-ups in the crucial start-up phase."
BaStI offers a unique combination of scientific expertise and practical support. Prof. Jennifer L.M. Rupp, Head of the TUM Chair of Solid State Electrolytes and herself founder of the battery start-up Qkera, explains: "With BaStI, we are focusing on holistic support that combines technological innovation with entrepreneurial thinking. The aim is to transfer scientific findings more efficiently into market-ready products, thus strengthening Germany's competitiveness. To achieve this, we need industrial production here on site."
UnternehmerTUM, Europe's leading start-up center, is contributing proven training formats such as XPRENEURS and XPLORE to the project and supplementing the offer with practical access to a broad industrial and investor network. In concrete terms, this involves the placement of mentors, companies as initial customers, and fundraising support. BaStI (BMBF reference number: 03XP0640) is being implemented with the support of TUMint.Energy Research and Jennifer Rupp as project coordinator. With the Munich Cluster of Excellence e-conversion, the incubator has a unique concentration of energy science expertise directly on site.
A challenge for hardware battery start-ups producing material components or even entire batteries is the high initial investment required. The development phase, scientific validation of an idea, the actual start-up phase, and the construction of prototypes are funded beyond BaStI and TUMint.Energy Research with independent BMBF funding instruments as part of the umbrella concept for battery research.
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Topic World Battery Technology
The topic world Battery Technology combines relevant knowledge in a unique way. Here you will find everything about suppliers and their products, webinars, white papers, catalogs and brochures.