The fuel cell research center ZBT GmbH

Cooperation and International News

The Institute’s staff of over 100 members are involved in more than 50 projects from cooperative industrial research and the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM), consortium projects with industry similarly funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, research consortia funded by the EU and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and projects of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as industrial contract work. A project volume of around 6 million euros per annum supplements the base funding by the state of NRW. The ZBT thus has ties with numerous cooperation partners in research and industry, including Max Planck Institutes, applied research institutions such as Dechema Forschungsinstitut or Fraunhofer Institutes, small and medium-sized enterprises and major industrial organizations, chiefly in the chemical, automotive and mechanical engineering sectors. The Institute works with numerous chairs at the University of Duisburg-Essen on research projects and other forms of collaboration. The EU projects are with European partners from Belgium, Denmark, UK, France, Greece, Poland and Sweden, among others. Beyond these, close contact is also maintained with potential Japanese and Chinese cooperation partners. The first orders have already been forthcoming. The ZBT is supported by an industrial association of 28 members that plays an important role as an advisor for the Institute’s direction in R&D.