To strengthen Germany's technological sovereignty in the field of battery technologies, the Battery Startup Incubator (BaStI) is being established at TUM. Funded with €3.3 million by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), BaStI, as an integral part of TUM Venture Labs, will support and advise prospective startups from across Germany during the initial phase. The goal is to accelerate the market entry of new battery technologies from research and thus reduce dependence on imports.
TUM Venture Labs CEO Philipp Gerbert emphasizes:
"Batteries are key to the energy transition and electromobility, but so far, at least 70 percent of global production comes from China. This dependence poses risks that we want to overcome through targeted support for domestic initiatives. Germany has an enormously strong research position in this field, but the transition to commercial enterprises is weak. With BaStI, we are creating, for the first time, a Germany-wide networked ecosystem that supports technology-oriented startups in this crucial start-up phase."
BaStI offers a unique combination of scientific expertise and practical support. Jennifer Rupp, head of the TUM Chair for Solid State Electrolytes and founder of the battery startup Qkera, explains:
"With BaStI, we are committed to holistic support that combines technological innovation with entrepreneurial thinking. The goal is to more efficiently translate scientific findings into market-ready products and thus strengthen Germany's competitiveness. To achieve this, we need industrial production here locally."
UnternehmerTUM brings proven training formats such as Xpreneurs and Explore into the project. The incubator complements the offerings with practical access to a broad industry and investor network. Specifically, it provides mentoring, companies as initial customers, and support with fundraising. BaStI is being implemented with the support of the interdisciplinary research institute TUMint.Energy Research and Jennifer Rupp as project coordinator. And with the Munich Cluster of Excellence E-Conversion, the incubator has a special concentration of energy science expertise directly at its location.
A particular challenge for hardware battery startups producing material components or entire batteries is the high initial investment required. The development phase and scientific validation of an idea, as well as the actual start-up phase and the construction of prototypes, are supported beyond BaStI and TUMint.Energy Research with independent funding instruments from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the Battery Research umbrella concept.
