Diesel engines were once developed there, and today scientists and researchers use the space that has been freed up in the MAN plant in Nuremberg. The BDI sees this as a good example of promoting innovation.
Industry President Siegfried Russwurm demands that politicians “promote innovation without ideological blinkers”. The President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) said on Thursday at an opening ceremony for laboratories at the Nuremberg universities in the MAN Nuremberg plant that you must focus much more on the transfer between science and business. “Openness to technology paves the way to climate neutrality. This creates innovations that convince customers worldwide and are in demand by them,” said Russwurm.
The truck manufacturer MAN, which belongs to the Volkswagen Group, is researching new drives together with the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and the Technical University of Nuremberg. “The first projects in the areas of batteries and hydrogen fuel cells have already started,” announced MAN.
The company leases areas on the Nuremberg factory premises that were formerly used for diesel engine development and are now vacant to the Technical University, which was looking for new space. The first students have been working there since the summer of 2022, and five test benches are already in operation. A total of eight test benches for batteries and fuel cells and a materials laboratory are to be built.
MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp said: “In the future, the most economical battery packs, fuel cells and electric motors for our customers will be developed and produced here with scientific support.” Niels Oberbeck, President of the Technical University, said the universities could help shape the transformation through application-oriented research and give students an insight into new technologies.
Battery packs for MAN trucks and buses are to be mass-produced in Nuremberg from 2025. The investments of around 100 million euros will be supported by the Free State with 30 million euros.
Source: Stern
