No, it’s not the discovery of an unknown Richard Lester film*, but the impending prototype manufacturing collaboration for a battery that promises 450 Watt-hours per liter. Four heavy-hitters in German industry plan on making (fabricating) the flat-panel EMBATT battery into a reality – with all speed. thyssenkrupp System Engineering GmbH, IAV GmbH, Daimler AG, and Fraunhofer IKTS (Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems) have teamed up for the “EMBATT-goes-FAB” project sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. thyssenkrupp specializes in planning, designing and implementing production lines for cylindrical, pouch, and prismatic batteries, and will apply that expertise to the new format. IAV provides engineering and consulting services to auto makers worldwide, and has a depth of knowledge in battery development. Daimler, of course, would have testbeds ready in car or truck size, and would have a vested interest in seeing batteries that can promise 1,000 kilometer (620 mile) range for their vehicles. Fraunhofer explains the relevant technology …