Bavarian Battery Congress 2026: Strategy meets practice and brings the industry together

More than 200 participants from business, science and politics came together in Munich in mid-May to discuss value creation, technology transfer and the next development steps for Bavaria as a battery location.

Strong impetus for Bavaria as a business location

At the invitation of Bayern Innovativ, the Bavarian Battery Congress brought the industry together in southern Germany for the third time. The focus was on the question of how Bavaria's existing strengths can be translated into industrial impact more quickly and what next steps are necessary to achieve this. The combination of strategy, industry dialogue and specialist program made it clear that the battery industry in Bavaria is broadly positioned and that the demand to generate concrete added value from it is growing.

The Bavarian battery strategy as a key signal

A particular highlight was the presentation of the new Bavarian battery strategy by Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger. The congress thus sent a clear political and industrial policy signal for Bavaria as a business location.

"Bavaria wants to be at the forefront of battery technologies - innovative, resilient and competitive. Because nothing works without batteries - whether in mobility, the energy transition or digitalization," said Hubert Aiwanger.

At the same time, the congress underlined the aim of bringing research, industrial application and strategic networking even closer together in future.

From a common understanding of the problem to the planning debate

A particularly formative impression of the congress was that a common understanding of the problem emerged across the various stakeholder groups as early as the keynote speech and at the latest in the panel discussion. Politics, business, science and associations described the challenges of the battery ecosystem from different perspectives, but with a strikingly similar assessment of the initial situation.

This was a key signal from the event: if the understanding of the problem is shared, the discussion shifts away from pure analysis towards the question of which measures have the greatest leverage. The congress has thus noticeably initiated a planning debate that is less about whether and more about the concrete how of the next steps.

Greater focus on resilience

The topic of resilience was a particular focus this year. The discussions made it clear how crucial resilient structures are becoming for security of supply, competitiveness and technological sovereignty. Especially in the context of the energy transition and modern energy systems, the important contribution that battery technologies can make became clear.

Renewable energies and decentralized energy storage systems in particular play a relevant role here. The congress showed that battery storage systems are far more than just a technology topic for individual sectors: they are an essential building block for robust and sustainable energy systems.

Expert panels with technological depth

Additional impetus came from the specialist panels on performance-driven innovations, stationary storage systems and the Bavarian battery research landscape. The discussions made it clear that competitiveness is created in particular where technology, industrial scaling and cooperation interact. It was precisely this combination of technical depth and concrete application that gave the congress its particular relevance.

Industrial dialog and new technological perspectives

A special emphasis was placed on the industry dialog on post-lithium technologies with Moll Batterien and VARTA. The focus was on the question of which new concepts and applications could open up additional market opportunities for Bavaria in the future. The direct exchange with companies from the field gave the congress a clearly industry-oriented perspective.

Impressions from Europe: the BetterE Expedition

Another highlight was the keynote speech on the BetterE Expedition by Simon Voß. The insights into his journey through Europe and the companies he presented provided a valuable external perspective on the European battery ecosystem. These impressions in particular made it clear how dynamically the market is developing, which players are already providing important impetus and where there are points of contact for Bavaria in the European context.