Chemnitz University of Technology Receives 5 Million Euros to Further Develop Sustainable Carbon Fiber Technologies
In mid-August 2026, the follow-up project "InnoCarbEnergyPLUS" was launched at Chemnitz University. This large-scale project at the power plant site in Boxberg is funded by the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) with approx. five million euros and will run for four years.
InnoCarbEnergyPLUS is a direct continuation of the state-funded InnoCarbEnergy project. This large-scale project is titled “Integrative Technologies for Energy- and Resource-Efficient Carbon Fiber Manufacturing Processes at the Power Plant Site in Boxberg, Upper Lusatia.”
The goal of the project is to develop forward-looking technological solutions for the production, processing, and recycling of sustainable, customized, and cost-effective carbon fibers. Carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic components manufactured from these fibers will rank among the most high-performance structures for “green” lightweight construction. Already, carbon fiber components are distinguished by their very high strength—on par with ultra-high-strength steels—combined with low weight, and are used, for example, in the aerospace and automotive industries, construction, sports equipment, and renewable energy generation facilities. The research project focuses on new material architectures and resource-efficient manufacturing processes that both fully exploit the performance density of carbon fiber components and improve their environmental footprint. Particular emphasis is placed on developing and testing forward-looking technological approaches with high commercialization potential to open up access to a broad user base—especially in Saxony—for this still-emerging high-performance material. The project is fully aligned with the strategic direction of the new Carbon LabFactory Saxony (CLFS) research site in Boxberg / Upper Lusatia, where scientists from Chemnitz University of Technology will dedicate themselves to advanced technologies, processes, methods, and systems for industry-specific applications.
“With this project, we are making an important contribution to the research and development of resource-efficient, sustainable, and energy-efficient carbon fibers, as well as their downstream processing in textile and plastics manufacturing process chains. The project allows us to develop entirely new solutions along the value chain ‘from molecule to high-performance component,’ which are of great scientific and industrial significance for climate protection,” explains Prof. Dr. Lothar Kroll, head of the Chair of Lightweight Structures and Plastics Processing (SLK) and spokesperson for CLFS. Dr. Mario Naumann, head of the Carbon Fiber and Processing Technologies research division at the SLK Chair and scientific director of CLFS, adds: “Through intensive interdisciplinary collaboration with companies, we are accelerating the transfer of research results into practical application. At the same time, the project strengthens the competitiveness of Boxberg as a research hub.”
What sets the Carbon LabFactory Saxony apart is its end-to-end research chain, spanning from the raw material to the finished structural component on a pilot-line scale. Comparable research facilities exist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the U.S. and at Carbon Nexus in Australia.