Invest Germany is promoting opportunities to join the German auto industry in developing lithium-ion and related automotive technologies backed by €1.1bn of public funds over 10 years. The agency reports that German OEMs - Daimler, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, and Opel are scheduled to release nine initial hybrid model series between them by 2010.

 

Daimler holds 25 patents in lithium-ion battery technologies and is planning to integrate such batteries into its hybrid S-class Mercedes models by 2009. Continental is serving as Daimler's system integrator and battery supplier.

 

Other industry leaders such as BASF, Bosch, Evonik, and Volkswagen have joined forces under the "Lithium Ion Battery LIB 2015" innovation alliance. They are investing €360 million in research and development of lithium-ion batteries. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is contributing €60 million toward this effort, as part of the federal government's technology development strategy. Over a ten-year period, the federal government will provide €1.1 billion to applied research on automotive electronics, lithium-ion batteries, lightweight construction, and other automotive applications.

 

The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) has recently launched a joint initiative among all the participating branches of industry, research institutes, and the BMBF to develop industry standards and a common base for future research in alternative energy storage systems.

 

Opportunities for foreign investors to establish their own facilities in Germany, partner with German OEMs or suppliers, and apply for research funding, are being promoted by Invest in Germany, the inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic.

 

Business opportunities in Germany will be presented at the Advanced Automotive Battery and Ultracapacitator Conference this week in Tampa, Florida.

 

According to a consultancy quoted by the Invest Germany agency, Advanced Auto Batteries, global growth in automotive batteries has increased more than ten-fold over the last six years and the global market will likely approach US$1.4 billion by 2010 and $2 billion by 2013. Growth in hybrids is especially strong in Germany, where registrations increased 44% in 2007.

From: autoindustry.uk/news