From September 16 to 18, 2025, the Matthews Engineering Energy Summit brought together industry leaders, innovators, and visionaries from across the energy and battery technology sectors at the company’s newly inaugurated Development Center in Vreden, Germany. Under the motto “Shaping the future of technology now,” participants engaged in two days of in-depth discussions, presentations, and demonstrations focused on breakthrough technologies and the industrialization of next-generation energy solutions.

The Energy Summit opened with a welcome from Brandon Babe, President Matthews Engineering and Thomas Hackfort, Senior Vice President Design & Development, who emphasized the importance of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and translating research into production-ready solutions. The program was officially launched by Dr. Veronika Wright, founder of Electrified Veronika and CEO of the Electrification Academy.

In her welcome & impulse lecture, Dr. Wright framed the discussions for the summit by highlighting emerging trends in battery and energy technologies, the growing importance of scalable manufacturing processes, and the critical role of cross-industry collaboration in shaping the energy transition. Her insights set the stage for the technical sessions and discussions that followed, including presentations by renowned guest speakers from research institutes, academia and industry.

The first day focused on battery technologies, with a spotlight on dry-coating processes for electrodes. Presentations explored how dry coating eliminates toxic solvents, reduces equipment footprint, allows for a wider range of coating thicknesses and enhances cell performance – which is particularly interesting for the manufacturing of solid-state batteries.

Prof. Dr. Arno Kwade (iPAT, TU Braunschweig / Fraunhofer ZESS) discussed optimal powder processing for high-quality, robust dry and semi-dry electrode coatings.

Dr. Célestine Singer (Factorial Energy) explained how dry coating supports all-solid-state battery manufacturing, improving interface control and long-term cycling stability.

Dr. Holger Althues (Fraunhofer IWS) presented the DRYtraec concept, highlighting its efficiency across various materials and chemistries.

Marcel Wissing and Esa-Matti Aalto (Matthews Engineering) highlighted the decades of experience in electrode making, culminating in the advancements of the next-gen multi-roll calendaring solution, and discussed next level primer coating for electrodes and capabilities for high-speed battery separator film production.

Dr. Moshiel Biton (Addionics) demonstrated smart 3D current collectors that boost electrode loading and performance while reducing cost.

Prof. Dr. Shirley Meng (University of Chicago, ACCESS) addressed dry electrode architecture for maximizing energy density at the cell level.

Dr. Alex Madsen (Anaphite) presented scalable dry electrode formulation, optimizing powder rheology and electrochemical performance for industrial adoption.

The second day shifted focus to hydrogen fuel cells and the industrialization of bipolar plates for electrolyzers.

Dr. Michael Joemann (Fraunhofer UMSICHT) introduced ultra-thin thermoplastic composite bipolar foils, demonstrating weight reduction, cost efficiency, and recyclability.

Prof. Dr. Ulf-Peter Apfel (Fraunhofer UMSICHT / Ruhr University Bochum) discussed the role of carbon bipolar plates in PEM water electrolysis.

Mohsen Bagherpour (Matthews Engineering) presented the company’s possibilities for the bipolar plate production process and potential cost reductions compared to conventional technologies.

Panel Discussion – “Beyond CO₂: Integrating Technology, Storage, and Innovation for the Energy Transition”

From left to right: Dr. Veronika Wright (Electrified Veronika / Electrification Academy), Prof. Dr. Christian Doetsch (Ruhr University Bochum / Fraunhofer UMSICHT), Dr. Christian Terhürne (Thyssengas) and Thomas Hackfort (Matthews Engineering)

The panellists highlighted cross-sector integration, green hydrogen infrastructure, and scalable manufacturing as essential levers for accelerating decarbonization. Discussions focused on systemic energy integration, smart grids, hydrogen pipelines, and translating R&D innovations into industrial-scale solutions.

A highlight of the event was the exclusive preview of Matthews Engineering’s new rotary processing and calendaring system for energy storage applications in the ground floor hall – presented in full scale and brought to life through an immersive virtual reality experience.

Purpose-built for agile collaboration and industrial scalability, with the newly established maker shopfloor environment within the Development Center a unique space was established that enables cross-functional teams to rapidly prototype, test, and scale advanced process technologies for energy storage and conversion components. Participants had the opportunity to gain insights into the capabilities during the company tours. Key process capabilities include roll-to-roll technologies such as extrusion, lamination, calendaring, slitting, embossing, die-cutting, precision coating, slot-die coating, and functional printing.

“The future of energy storage isn’t a distant goal – we’re building it now,” says Thomas Hackfort, Senior Vice President, Design & Development, Matthews Engineering. “Solid-state, recyclability, novel materials – these are no longer theoretical. They’re part of our active roadmap, shaped in close collaboration with our partners.”

The Matthews Engineering Energy Summit 2025 showcased how cutting-edge technologies can be translated into scalable, production-ready solutions. Participants gained unique insights, engaged with leading experts, and experienced firsthand the power of integrated thinking and cross-industry collaboration.

For more information on how Matthews Engineering is shaping the future of energy technology, visit our sites Battery Manufacturing and Hydrogen Engineering & Technology.