The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt – BMFTR) appointed EAS Managing Director Michael Deutmeyer to the ‘Battery Research Germany’ advisory board in June 2025. Advising the Federal Ministry means actively shaping Germany's battery technology future. Michael Deutmeyer answered four questions about his new voluntary position:
What is the task of the BMFTR Advisory Board ‘Battery Research Germany’?
"The Advisory Board acts as an expert counselling body for the Federal Ministry of Research. It discusses all issues relating to strategic research planning for electrochemical energy storage systems. In addition to innovations in lithium ion technology, this also includes new promising battery technologies, for example on the basis of sodium ions. The advisory focus is on project funding. In order to gain an all-round perspective here, the advisory board is made up of players from the entire battery technology value chain in Germany. Representatives from universities, private and state research institutes and industrial companies exchange ideas with officials from the state project management organisation Jülich, who in turn provide further advice within the ministry. Decisions are then made at a higher level of the BMFTR. However, the Advisory Board can make requests and recommendations or form working groups on specific topics to provide separate and specific support. Their work is organised by the Kompetenznetzwerk Lithium-Ionen-Batterien e. V. (KLiB)."
How do you envisage the Federal Ministry providing ideal consultation?
"Basically, I expect that we will receive clear information about what is to be decided and that each individual on the advisory board will be able to comment on this. The questions will relate to the content of the research, the subsequent feasibility of the results and the comparison with the state of technology in other nations. Specifically, I would propose a secret online ballot so that everyone can express themselves honestly, while exercising caution when handling sensitive data and information. Only in this way can we generate a comprehensive picture of opinion and access one hundred per cent of the available expertise.
It is important to allow discussion. This is the only way for decision-makers to realise what expectations, mood and needs prevail in this area. The interests of industry and science are not always identical. But if you know the background, you can set your priorities sensibly."
What are your personal goals and which topics have you dedicated yourself to?
"The central question for me is how to use research funds so efficiently and purposefully that their results are highly likely to be commercialised. We want to catch up and become faster. That’s why we need to take a closer look - where does funding make sense and how can we accelerate the implementation of innovative technologies? Better dovetailing between the BMFTR and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) would be useful here. In this way, we could consider and support the commercialisation of a new technology right from the initial development stage. However, this requires an overarching dialogue. At the moment, we only advise the Ministry of Research, not the Ministry of Economic Affairs."
What does your work on the advisory board mean for EAS and for European battery technology as a whole?
"It's a great opportunity to be able to impact decision-making processes within research funding as EAS Managing Director. Furthermore, we receive information from research areas that we have had less contact with to date, but which could become more important for the future viability of our company. Volunteering certainly also strengthens our network and intensifies our dialogue with established stakeholders. This will sharpen our view of the big picture.
For EAS, just as at European level, it will be crucial how the many research results can be utilised economically. This calls for networking and the joint utilisation of existing resources. But this is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. It would be wonderful to harmonise the strategies of the two ministries. So far, however, I have only attended one advisory board meeting of the BMFTR. If, over time, I can see that the proposed measures of the advisory board and the decisions of the Ministry of Research converge or even increasingly coincide, then I am very optimistic about Europe's battery technology future."