With the funding project SIB:DE ENTWICKLUNG, the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) has launched the largest German consortium to date dedicated to sodium-ion battery technology. Twenty-five partners from academia and industry are collaborating to develop a sustainable, safe, and cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The focus is on the production of large-format, market-ready cells and the assessment of their recyclability. The goal is the rapid transfer of research results into industrial applications.
Battery cells are an indispensable component of the mobility transition adopted by the EU by 2030. They also play a crucial role in integrating large amounts of renewable electricity into the grid and are essential for uninterrupted power supply in the construction of 5G telecommunications stations. Currently, lithium-ion batteries are the most widely used energy storage devices. However, dependence on and scarcity of raw materials pose a significant challenge for the lithium-ion battery market. Consequently, there is an urgent need to find comparable alternatives for both mobile and stationary energy storage. Sodium is considered a particularly non-critical raw material; it is readily available, inexpensive, and classified as very safe. Sodium-ion batteries can thus play a key role in ensuring a stable and sustainable European energy supply.
Sodium-ion battery cell manufacturing for Germany and Europe
The sodium-ion battery (SIB) represents a forward-looking storage technology that offers an attractive complement or alternative to the currently market-leading lithium-ion batteries in terms of sustainability, security of supply, and cost structure. As a raw material, sodium is significantly more widely available, less expensive, and more evenly distributed globally than lithium, cobalt, or nickel, which can reduce current strong geopolitical dependencies and strengthen the reliability of future energy systems.
The project SIB:DE ENTWICKLUNG therefore aims to evaluate the suitability of sodium-ion technology for a sustainable energy and mobility transition and to achieve rapid industrial implementation in order to catch up with the Asian market. The intention is to establish a complete ecosystem for sodium-ion battery cell manufacturing in Germany and Europe. In particular, the focus is on rapidly enabling the participating industry partners to produce battery cells on a large scale, in a market-ready and competitive manner.
Strong alliance between research and industry
The project consortium for the SIB:DE ENTWICKLUNG initiative consists of eleven industry partners and fourteen academic partners, as well as an expanded group of associated partners from SIB:DE FORSCHUNG and an industry advisory board. Coordinated by EDAG Production Solutions GmbH & Co. KG, it is the largest German network dedicated to sodium-ion battery technology. SIB:DE ENTWICKLUNG is part of the SIB:DE initiative, which has already produced the SIB:DE FORSCHUNG project. The large industry advisory board demonstrates the interest in the development of sodium-ion cells across Europe. Only through this close integration of expertise from science and industry and the efficient cooperation between industry and research partners is rapid and sustainable scaling toward market penetration of sodium-ion battery cells possible.
The national experts in battery cell production and recycling are united in the project SIB:DE ENTWICKLUNG and are jointly and collectively pursuing the overarching goal of a technologically sovereign, competitive, and sustainable battery value chain for sodium-ion technology, as well as the establishment of a complete ecosystem for sodium-ion battery production.
About the project
The project is supported by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) through the Project Management Jülich (PtJ) with funding of €14.5 million for the period from March 2026 to February 2029 (funding reference 03XPB028).
Project partner
- EDAG Production Solutions GmbH & Co. KG (Koordinator)
- acp-systems AG
- Coperion GmbH
- cylib GmbH
- EAS Batteries GmbH
- E-Lyte Innovations GmbH
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Fertigungstechnik und Angewandte Materialforschung IFAM
- Fraunhofer-Einrichtung Forschungsfertigung Batteriezelle FFB
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Gießerei-, Composite- und Verarbeitungstechnik IGCV
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Keramische Technologien und Systeme IKTS
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung IPA
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Siliziumtechnologie ISIT
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkzeugmaschinen und Umformtechnik IWU
- FUCHS LUBRICANTS Germany GmbH
- GROB-WERKE GmbH & Co. KG
- Jungheinrich AG
- Karlsruher Institut für Technologie KIT – wbk Institut für Produktionstechnik
- RWTH Aachen – Institut für Stromrichtertechnik und elektrische Antriebe – ISEA
- Technische Universität Braunschweig – Battery LabFactory Braunschweig – BLB
- Technische Universität München – Institut für Werkzeugmaschinen und Betriebswissenschaften – iwb
- Technische Universität München – Lehrstuhl für Elektrische Energiespeichertechnik – EES
- UniverCell Holding GmbH
- VARTA Storage GmbH
- Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung – ZSW – Produktionsforschung – ECP