The building offers nearly 1,500 m2 of space, which can accommodate up to six of the 20 working groups in the field of organic and macromolecular chemistry, electrochemistry, carbon nanomaterials and the chemistry of glass along with the professorial chair (shared with the IKTS) and laboratories for producing prototypes. The Ernst Abbe Foundation, the Carl Zeiss Foundation and the State of Thuringia are all contributing EUR 14.5 m. Though the center has barely started, there are already plans to extend it. “This new battery research center will make Thuringia a leader in storage technology,” said Wolfgang Tiefensee, Thuringia’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Science and Digital Society, at the topping-out ceremony. The minister added that energy and environmental technologies were “key technologies of the 21st century”. The joint project between the university in Jena and the IKTS will ensure that knowledge makes its way into the business world. For example, the results of pure research will be seen in prototypes and will eventually be developed into marketable products together with industrial partners. (maa)
