Munich, February 28, 2025. The automotive industry is currently experiencing its biggest change since the invention of the combustion engine: the electrification of passenger and freight transport is in full swing worldwide and is playing a key role on the journey towards climate neutrality. The challenges posed by this transformation were the focus of 'New Battery World 2025' in Munich, a two-day summit on the future of electromobility, held last week on the 27th and 28th of February. More than 500 participants as well as numerous speakers and corporate partners exchanged ideas about trends and innovations, especially on battery technologies and production processes, fuel cells and charging infrastructure for cars and commercial vehicles. For example, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen pilot project and the prototype of the fuel cell truck from Daimler Truck were presented. In addition, the congress participants received exclusive insights into the BMW Group’s competence center for battery cell production in Parsdorf near Munich. The event was organized by automotive expert Prof. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer and the consulting firm Drees & Sommer SE, based in Stuttgart.
Green drive for heavy loads: hydrogen powers commercial vehicles
One of the focuses of the industry meeting was the decarbonization of the commercial vehicle sector. Hydrogen plays an important role in this regard. During his presentation, Dr. Michael Rath, Vice President Hydrogen Vehicles at the BMW Group, reported on initial pilot projects at BMW. The vehicle manufacturer is already using two fuel cell trucks as part of the European H2Haul project. Series production of hydrogen vehicles is scheduled to begin as early as 2028.
An important prerequisite for this is the development of reliable charging infrastructure, says Florian Langlotz, Partner and Head of Automotive at Drees & Sommer. According to a study by NOW GmbH (Nationalen Organisation Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie), Germany is expected to need 1,150, 1,700 and 2,350 hydrogen filling stations in 2035, 2040 and 2045, respectively. The demand for hydrogen for these filling stations, which will mainly fuel heavy commercial vehicles, will increase to 385,000 to 510,000 tonnes by 2030 1.
“Hydrogen is an important addition to the journey towards climate-friendly mobility in heavy-duty transport, where battery drives reach their limits,” says Florian Langlotz. “When it comes to the drives of the future, we cannot simply put all our eggs in one basket. Fuel cell and electric vehicles can complement each other perfectly.”
Battery expertise from Europe
Groundbreaking battery technologies for electric vehicles were also in the spotlight during the congress. European companies are continuously expanding their battery expertise and thus laying the foundations for future innovations. An example: PowerCo SE, the Volkswagen Group's battery company, is working together with the printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer on the dry coating process. This new production process manages to reduce energy consumption in cell production by around 30 percent. In addition, the use of chemical solvents is eliminated.
“Developing a local battery industry is extremely important for Europe. Innovations such as the dry coating process show that German companies increasingly have the expertise to help shape battery technology. However, in competition with China and the USA, competitive basic conditions are now also required. With the Automotive Action Plan, the EU can make important decisions in this regard and effectively support the development of the industry with means such as OPEX funding," explains Frank Blome, CEO of PowerCo.
IEA forecast: Every second car worldwide will be electric by 2035
The rapid market growth of electric vehicles in Germany suffered a setback in 2024. However, the demand for electric cars will continue to rise worldwide, especially in China, which also plays a leading role in battery production – this is the conclusion come to by the International Energy Agency (IEA)2. According to the report, under the current political conditions, every second car sold worldwide will be electric by 2035. With an ambitious climate policy, this figure could even be as high as two in three vehicles. According to the IEA, this would avoid the need for around 12 million barrels of oil per day, which corresponds to the current consumption of road transport in China and Europe combined.
“Electric vehicles with innovative battery technology are the key to emission-free mobility. Germany and Europe should not leave the leading position in this innovative industry to China, where 50 percent of new car sales are already electric vehicles […] 3,” says automotive expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, joint organizer of “New Battery World 2025”. “A long-term strategy for European battery cell production is needed in order to strengthen competitiveness on an international level. It is important to expand manufacturing capacities, make production processes more efficient and produce sustainable, high-performance battery technologies that offer long ranges, short charging times and better recyclability. There are also other success factors, such as the accelerated expansion of the charging infrastructure and a wide range of car models at affordable prices."
The future is digital – in battery production too
“The industry is faced with the enormous task of planning, building and commissioning the production facilities in the shortest possible time in order to meet the increasing demand for batteries in e-mobility,” says Drees & Sommer expert Florian Langlotz. “In order to overcome this challenge, the industry is relying on future concepts such as smart factories and industrial metaverse.” The basic idea is for factories and their processes to be digitally simulated – one-to-one and in real time. In this way, it will be possible to identify potential problems in the virtual world so that everything in the actual plant runs smoothly right from the start.
“In cooperation with NVIDIA and T-Systems, we have already managed to realize the first successful practical projects in the automotive industry,” reports Florian Langlotz. “Thanks to digital twins, it is possible to plan plants better, implement them more quickly and operate them more efficiently. Furthermore, it is possible to test numerous variations of the production parameters virtually in battery production.” Smart factories and digital solutions are a major topic at “New Battery World 2025”, with the US company NVIDIA, among others, reporting on its projects.
Raw material cycles: now things are getting going
Another focus of “New Battery World 2025” is the procurement and recycling of battery materials and raw materials. "We support companies in designing their batteries sustainably and making them recyclable according to the 'Cradle to Cradle' principle," says Jan Christoph von der Lancken, Managing Director of EPEA GmbH, a subsidiary of Drees & Sommer. Cradle to Cradle essentially means designing products and processes in a way that means they do not become waste at the end of their life cycle, but can be returned to high-quality biological or technical material cycles.
“The Cradle to Cradle principle can also be applied to batteries for electric vehicles,” says von der Lancken. "One driver for this is legal requirements such as the EU Battery Regulation from 2023, which is intended to pave the way to a circular economy." Recycling batteries offers great potential, as a recent study by the European umbrella organization Transport and Environment (T&E) shows: By recycling batteries, Europe could reduce its dependence on imported battery minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt by up to a quarter from 2030 4. According to the study, new batteries for up to 2.4 million electric cars could be built using materials from old batteries and waste from large factories alone.
Strong network of electric charging stations
“Another success factor for the future of e-mobility is the rapid expansion of a comprehensive and user-friendly charging infrastructure,” emphasizes Florian Langlotz. The precise needs in Germany are being discussed. The "Nationale Leitstelle Ladeinfrastruktur" (national control center for charging infrastructure) assumes that between 380,000 and 680,000 publicly accessible charging points will be needed by 2030, of which 55,000 to 90,000 will be HPC charging points, i.e. high-power charging pumps that enable particularly fast charging. There are currently around 154,000 public charging points 5. “Successful expansion of the charging infrastructure requires sound planning,” says Florian Langlotz. “We support cities, municipalities and companies with holistic solutions – from conception and location analysis to financing and funding checks to cost control and economic operation.”
New Automotive World: The conference goes into series
With “New Battery World 2025”, Drees & Sommer and Ferdinand Dudenhöffer are continuing the conference series under the umbrella of “New Automotive World”, which celebrated a strong start last year. After “New Battery World 2025”, “New Manufacturing World” will take place in Wolfsburg in September 2025 – another industry meeting on the future of mobility.
Further information at: www.newautomotiveworld.com/de
