Fraunhofer Opens New ZESS Building for Solid-State Batteries and Hydrogen
Braunschweig – The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has opened the new building of the Fraunhofer Centre for Energy Storage and Systems (ZESS) in Braunschweig. Three Fraunhofer institutes are working there with TU Braunschweig to develop solid-state batteries and hydrogen technologies, with the aim of driving the transfer into industrial applications.
New Building: 1,750 Square Metres of Laboratory Space and a 450 Square Metre Dry Room
The Fraunhofer project centre ZESS, which started in February 2019 at the Automotive Research Centre Niedersachsen (NFF), has become a dedicated research building with the new construction. It covers around 3,300 square metres, including roughly 1,750 square metres of laboratory space and a 450 square metre dry room. The building was constructed using timber-hybrid methods with reduced use of concrete, and features photovoltaic systems on the roof and facade as well as green roofs. Its open hall structure is designed to allow the building to adapt to new research requirements over the long term.
Research Programme: Solid-State Batteries and Hydrogen Technologies
At ZESS, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films (IST), the Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) and the Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) are pooling their expertise. The cooperation with TU Braunschweig includes the Battery LabFactory and the Center for Circular Production of Next Batteries and Fuel Cells. Centre spokesman Christoph Herrmann said that ZESS covers the entire process chain, from new materials and production technologies to the circular economy.
The Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production (FFB) in Münster, like the three Fraunhofer institutes involved in ZESS (IST, IFAM and IKTS), is part of the Fraunhofer Battery Alliance. The FFB focuses in particular on scaling battery cell manufacturing processes up to near-industrial production.
In hydrogen, ZESS is working on POWERPASTE, among other projects. Developed at IFAM, it is a chemical storage medium for PEM fuel cells that releases hydrogen on contact with water. According to ZESS, the synthesis is being tested there at pilot-plant scale to demonstrate the scaling of material production towards industrial manufacturing. IFAM describes the centre’s target as technology readiness levels (TRL) 4 to 6, i.e. from laboratory scale to prototypes in a relevant environment.
Federal and State Funding: EUR 49.85 Million for the Research Building
The federal government and the state of Lower Saxony invested around EUR 49.85 million in the construction. Bär explicitly placed ZESS within the framework of the Hightech Agenda Deutschland. “With Fraunhofer ZESS, we are investing specifically in a research infrastructure that combines cutting-edge research with industrial implementation,” she said. Lower Saxony’s Science Minister Falko Mohrs said he sees the site as a complement to the state’s battery and hydrogen ecosystem and that it creates “the best conditions” for “translating research results into industrial applications more quickly.”
According to Constantin Häfner, a member of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s Executive Board, battery and hydrogen technologies are decisive for the energy and mobility transition and for the competitiveness of industry. ZESS is intended to turn inventions into industrial innovations and thereby strengthen value creation and technological sovereignty in Germany and Europe.
Source: IWR Online, 13 Oct 2026
