The Automotive Focus Group of the Logistics Real Estate Topic Group of the BVL will publish this year Sheet 3 on water protection as part of the action recommendations for the fire protection of the uniform storage of lithium-ion batteries. This was announced by topic owner Nico Anderten, Head of Environmental Consulting & Approvals at Rhenus, at the forum “Future-Proof Logistics Real Estate – Challenges: Overheads, Battery Storage, Rail Access,” moderated by Kuno Neumeier, CEO of Logivest, the spokesperson for the Logistics Real Estate Topic Group, at the BVL Supply Chain CX 2025 in Berlin. “In Sheet 3, it will address how to handle lithium-ion batteries after a fire event
and protect the environment,” said Anderten. The action recommendations were conceived together with a working group of the VDI.
In Sheet 4, the focus group generally deals with fire protection for the storage of lithium-ion batteries. This action recommendation, which is intended to prevent thermal runaway of Li-Ion batteries, is expected to be presented to the public in the summer of 2026. The focus group is working with VdS Schadenverhütung GmbH, a subsidiary of the Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft, as well as with FM.
“The goal is to discuss Sheet 4 with insurers in Germany so that they can contribute their proposals,” explained Anderten.
This is intended to create planning
certainty for customers of logistics real estate, investors, and logistics service providers.
“The storage of lithium-ion batteries is no longer a niche topic,” emphasized the group spokesperson for the Automotive Focus Group, Volker Rügheimer, who is the Head of Logistics OTLG at the Volkswagen Group. “In 2023 there were over 550,000 new registrations of electric vehicles.” Due to the political framework conditions, the share of new registrations in 2024 was only 13 percent; in 2025 the value is expected to rise again to 23 to 25 percent.
“By 2030, the share of new registrations that are electric vehicles will certainly be between 55 and 60 percent,” said Rügheimer. “And with
the phase-out of combustion engines in 2035, we will only sell electric vehicles.”
Mario Glöckner, focus group spokesperson for the Rail & Logistics Real Estate Group and Director Terminal Capture at Cargobeamer, pointed out that this focus group is now working together with the Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (VDV):
“As a result, we have a significantly expanded network, we receive targeted information and cooperate with protagonists who help us develop topics and consider details. We also gain, through this solidarity, a different political effectiveness, because the VDV has better contacts in politics. And we complement each other in our goals, for example in the project of a handbook for the real
