Zittau: Topping-out ceremony at the DLR Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes
On December 1, 2025, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) celebrated the topping-out ceremony for a new building complex in Zittau. The new building marks a decisive milestone for research activities into the decarbonization of industrial processes in Germany.
"With the new DLR Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes in Zittau, we are combining research, technology and innovative strength in one place. We are developing solutions here that will help industry to make green heat and climate-neutral processes a reality. The close cooperation with the Free State of Saxony, in particular with the Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, Energy and Climate Protection, and the city of Zittau, as well as the resulting short construction time, impressively demonstrate how determined we are to work together on the industrial transformation. Zittau will thus become a central engine for the climate-friendly production of the future," emphasized DLR Executive Board Chairwoman Prof. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla.
Founded in June 2019, the DLR Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes researches innovative operating concepts for energy-efficient and sustainable production. Among other things, the focus is on a new generation of high-temperature heat pumps and technologies that can fundamentally change processes with previously particularly high CO₂ emissions. The new building in Zittau combines offices and a test hall in one location for the first time and comprises around 1,000 square meters of office space and around 2,500 square meters for a test hall. Completion of the building complex is planned for the end of 2026.
There are currently 34 employees working at DLR in Zittau, and this figure is set to rise to 60 in the future. Together with its site in Cottbus, the institute employs around 80 scientific and technical staff as well as ten administrative staff.
The construction project is being financed by a grant of 33 million euros. Over 60 percent of the companies contracted for the new building are from Saxony, some of them directly from Zittau and the surrounding area as well as Dresden and Bautzen. The project is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Saxon State Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development. The federal government and the Free State of Saxony are thus making targeted investments in the development of Upper Lusatia and strengthening the scientific and industrial location beyond regional and state borders.