July 1, 2010
MUNICH / AUGSBURG Handing over grants amounting to a total of approximately € 24 million to the German Aerospace Center – Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) – and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (FhG) in Augsburg, Martin Zeil, Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, said: “I am pleased that Augsburg has become a location for the renowned Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the German Aerospace Center. This strengthens Swabia’s excellent research infrastructure even further.”
As part of the ‘Composite Fibre Technologies and Mechatronics Research Offensive for Bavarian Swabia’, the Bavarian State Government is supporting the Augsburg location with funds amounting to a total of € 53 million. Central elements of the research program are the establishment of a DLR Center for Light-Weight Construction Technology, an FhG Project Group for Function-Integrated Light-Weight Construction and an FhG Project Group for Resource-Efficient Mechatronic Processing Machines. The City of Augsburg is contributing an additional € 8.5 million.
The Augsburg / Swabia region already possesses key industry and research competences in the fields of fibre-reinforced composites, mechatronics and IT services. These competences are being further strengthened. Said Zeil: “The further development of the non-university research infrastructure in the region of Swabia is of great importance when it comes to sustainably strengthening key industries in Southern Germany and ensuring their future competitiveness. This will secure and increase the number of high-tech jobs.”
The main aim of the research program is to develop new and efficient production and automation processes for the manufacture of composite fibre components. Along with mechatronics, in other words, the interplay of mechanics, electronics and informatics, activities focus on fibre-composite materials. Zeil: “I am certain that our funding has been well invested. Carbon fibre is a remarkable material with a great future: as well as being very light, it is extremely strong. Carbon fibre plays a major role in light-construction technology, a field that is growing exponentially all over the world. It has outstanding potential, especially in the aerospace industry, automobile manufacture and mechanical engineering. This new technology offers several advantages: aeroplanes and vehicles can be made lighter, which reduces their energy consumption and thus increases their economic efficiency. This in turn improves their environmental performance.”
Source: Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs