"Energy storage is a key technology of the 21st century," said Thuringia's Science Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee when he attended the topping-out ceremony for the buildings in June together with Infrastructure Minister Susanna Karawanskij. For the energy transition to succeed, it will need efficient storage facilities, he noted; the Ukraine crisis imbued this issue with even more urgency. The total cost of the construction project is just over 54 million euros and is financed by the federal and state governments as well as the Ernst Abbe and Carl Zeiss Foundations. Around 13 million euros are being co-financed by European Union funds under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). In addition to storage technologies, CEEC Jena also develops solutions for photovoltaics and hydrogen technology, among other things. (hw)