A METEOR has hit

On 16.12.2020, the kick-off of a very special research project took place in the currently usual context of a video conference. The aim of the joint project METEOR (Methods and Technologies for Validating and Optimizing the Resource Efficiency of Process Networks in the Production of Lightweight Structures) is nothing less than to demonstrate ways of reducing CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent in the production of lightweight structures by 2030. Under the leadership of the internationally renowned Institute for Lightweight Construction and Plastics Technology (ILK) at the Technical University of Dresden, numerous, proven partners from industry and research have come together to initially explore new avenues in solar-assisted temperature control (gwk Gesellschaft Wärme Kältetechnik mbH - Meinerzhagen), online life cycle assessment (ILK) and inline simulation (KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH - Munich;  Institute for Product Engineering (IPE) of the University of Duisburg-Essen) of production processes as well as the robot-assisted joining of plastic/metal composite structures (Böllhoff Verbindungstechnik GmbH - Bielefeld; Laboratory for Materials and Joining Technology (LWF) of the University of Paderborn). This first stage is funded by the Technology Transfer Program Lightweight Construction (TTP Leichtbau) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and accompanied by the Project Management Jülich (PTJ) .

"METEOR is the first of a whole series of projects with which we want to make a noticeable contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in the industrial production of sustainable lightweight structures" said Prof. Dr. Maik Gude from the ILK. "This project is of outstanding importance for Saxony and in particular for Dresden as a location for lightweight construction, as it forms the basis for the National Lightweight Construction Validation Center (LEIV) on Zwickauer Strasse." In this center, a hitherto unique, largely environmentally neutral production network is to be realized by 2030. The LEIV will thus become an incubator on an international level that will significantly simplify and accelerate the transfer of know-how to the real economy through the demonstration on an industrial scale of economically and ecologically sensible solutions. "Dresden has been a recognized center for modern lightweight system design among excellent researchers since the early 1990s. "The fact that we can now also establish such an application-oriented center at the University of Excellence TU Dresden, supported by the BMWi, is the logical consequence and has long been expected by our international industrial and research partners" said Prof. Dr. Maik Gude.