Minister inaugurates new buildings: Bayreuth is a „Bavarian supercell“

"Today we are celebrating the University of Bayreuth!" Bavarian Science Minister Markus Blume was full of praise when he inaugurated the new modular building NW IV at the University of Bayreuth on April 8: "With the Hightech Agenda Bayern, we are investing in minds, technology - and in construction! Because bright minds need space. The modular building for the natural sciences was completed in record time. From now on, interdisciplinary research in biochemistry, AI in protein sciences, biomechanics and tissue engineering will be carried out here. This also makes it clear that the University of Bayreuth is our interdisciplinary champion."

Financed with 13.2 million euros from the Hightech Agenda Bayern, a state-of-the-art office and laboratory building in modular construction has been built on the campus of the University of Bayreuth under the direction of the Bayreuth State Building Authority. In just one year, the Markgraf company constructed NW IV in the immediate vicinity of the existing buildings for scientific and engineering research with state-of-the-art laboratory technology. An area of over 1,100 m² was created using an innovative modular construction method with cost-efficient and accelerated construction. In future, interdisciplinary research will be carried out here on forward-looking topics in the fields of protein design, protein science, tissue reconstruction ("organ printing") and cellular biomechanics. The following chairs will be located in the building: Prof. Dr. Birte Höcker, Biochemistry III - Protein Design; Prof. Dr. Roberto Covino, Artificial Intelligence in Protein Science; Prof. Dr. Anayancy Osorio Madrazo, Additive Processes for Tissue Reconstruction ("Organ Printing"); Prof. Dr. Dr. Elisabetta Ada Cavalcanti-Adam, Cellular Biomechanics.

University Chancellor Dr. Nicole Kaiser emphasizes: "With this building, we were able to create new and contemporary space for research in a very short space of time so that the high-tech agenda professorships can quickly begin their research activities. The modular construction method we chose with a reliable partner from the region was very successful for these requirements. It took four years from the first meeting on the rough planning to the users moving in, and this could well become a model for future buildings. Thanks here to the strong cooperation between the state building authority, the building contractor and our committed university administration.

The tour then continued to the new BayBatt Cell Technology Center in the FAN D building. "Battery research is now firmly established at the University of Bayreuth with the Bavarian Centre for Battery Technology (BayBatt)," said University President Prof. Dr. Stefan Leible in his welcoming address. "State-of-the-art facilities and state-of-the-art equipment are not an end in themselves: they ensure that scientists who come to Bayreuth find the best working conditions and can advance their research at the University of Bayreuth at the highest level. Thanks to the High-Tech Agenda of the Free State of Bavaria, the professorships located here can contribute to finding answers to today's technological, ecological and medical challenges."

Photos (c) Peter Kolb/UBT

A particular highlight is the BayBatt Cell Technology Center, a pilot plant for the production of battery cells that is unique in Germany. Here, material classes of all kinds can be processed with high precision into different types of battery cells, each in several formats. The facility maps the entire battery cell production process. The components to be examined range from the electrodes used, separators, electrolytes and arresters to cell components from post-mortem analyses. The company manufactures its own battery cells in various formats with high repeat accuracy and the production process is state of the art. The quantities are small, as the focus here is on flexibility and reproducibility for research. The manufactured cells are demonstrators for the materials, electrodes and storage concepts used. The processes are currently being established. Cells for in-house research, collaborative research and contract research for OEMs and suppliers are to be manufactured in the laboratory. The BayBatt Cell Technology Center was financed from two sources: EUR 2.5 million came from the Hightech Agenda Bayern and a further EUR 2.5 million from large-scale equipment funding from the Free State of Bavaria.

Blume also had words of appreciation for this: "The University of Bayreuth is our Bavarian supercell: BayBatt is the leading research center for battery technology in Germany. The opening of the BayBatt Cell Technology Center today shows once again that we are at the forefront of technological progress in Bavaria. We are massively expanding renewable energies. And we are providing new storage technologies. This is crucial for the energy transition: We have to solve the storage problems and quickly bring knowledge to commercial implementation!"