Chemnitz: Germany's Largest University Chair Turns 20

Cutting-edge research carries weight. In Chemnitz, it’s making components lighter. Together with industry and research partners, the Chair of Lightweight Structures and Plastics Processing (SLK) at Chemnitz University of Technology has been developing lightweight construction solutions for all industries and areas of life for two decades. Today, approximately 170 employees work at the SLK—making it the largest university research group in Germany. Each year, the group handles about 100 research and technology transfer projects. In 2024 alone, external funding totaled around ten million euros.

Current SLK projects include, for example, the development of a manufacturing process for battery housings made of fiber-reinforced plastic. The housing is about 15 percent lighter than the aluminum reference component. At the same time, it can be manufactured with production cycles of well under two minutes. This is not only about reducing weight but also about making lightweight construction solutions economically viable for large production volumes. The process was honored this year with the “JEC Innovation Award 2026.” The project consortium also included companies from the region, such as Formenbau GF from Marienberg and Gerlinger Industries from Netzschkau. The SLK achieved a world first in civil aviation: Together with Airbus and Liebherr-Aerospace, researchers at Chemnitz University of Technology developed an additively manufactured high-pressure valve block made of titanium for the Airbus A380. The safety-critical hydraulic component was manufactured using 3D printing and was approximately 35 percent lighter than the conventional version.

In Chemnitz, however, lightweight construction research can also be experienced while sitting down. The C-shaped “Big C” street furniture made of carbon concrete was developed by the SLK’s “Lightweight Construction in Civil Engineering” research division in collaboration with partners. Carbon reinforcements enable their delicate form; the manufacturing process utilizes, among other things, recyclable corrugated cardboard formwork. What invites people to linger in the city is also an example of how materials research leads to a concrete application.

Excellent basic research and its subsequent transfer into practical applications have characterized the SLK for two decades. The establishment of the professorship began with the appointment of Prof. Dr. Lothar Kroll in 2006. Since then, a total of nearly 500 employees have worked at the professorship. The professorship has secured approximately 500 million euros in funding for basic, application-oriented, and industry-relevant research projects as well as for construction projects; including the participating research partners, the total project volume amounts to well over one billion euros. Behind these figures lies a development that extends beyond the growth of a single professorship: the development of expertise, research facilities, and partnerships that enable new scientific discoveries and bring technologies all the way to industrial application.

• From Basic Research to Industrial Application

It all begins with basic research: The SLK investigates the interplay of materials, structures, and manufacturing processes, thereby laying the scientific groundwork for new lightweight construction technologies. Through research consortia, the chair collaborates with nearly all faculties at Chemnitz University of Technology as well as with non-university research institutions. Collaboration with small and medium-sized enterprises is not merely a supplementary area of work but an essential component of the research profile. The SLK combines basic research with the development of materials, components, machines, and manufacturing processes. Calculations, material development, processing, and recycling are all considered together. Thus, the work ranges from the question of how a component withstands loads to its manufacture and the handling of the materials used after the component has served its purpose.

• Milestones in the History of the Professorship

A decisive milestone in basic research was the MERGE Federal Cluster of Excellence “Technology Fusion for Multifunctional Lightweight Structures,” coordinated and led by Prof. Lothar Kroll: the first and, to date, only Federal Cluster of Excellence at Chemnitz University of Technology and, at the same time, the first in Germany in the field of lightweight construction research. From 2012 to 2019, it brought together expertise in plastics, metals, and textile technologies as well as intelligent systems. The MERGE Technology Center, consisting of a research hall and a laboratory building, created opportunities to develop and test new processes not only on small samples but also on large-scale facilities. To this day, this infrastructure serves as an important foundation for research and technology transfer and continues to be utilized within the MERGE Research Cluster as a central facility of Chemnitz University of Technology. The award-winning battery housing was also manufactured in the MERGE Research Center’s laboratory building.

Third-generation lightweight structures are the focus of the Collaborative Research Center / Transregios 402 “DediGrad,” which has been active since 2025. Under the coordination of Prof. Lothar Kroll, Chemnitz University of Technology, Dresden University of Technology, and RWTH Aachen University are collaborating with the Vienna University of Technology and the Fraunhofer IWU to develop the scientific foundations and new production technologies for lightweight structures whose reinforcements are specifically adapted to the respective loads. The goal is to develop high-performance components that conserve resources and reduce energy consumption during both manufacturing and use. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is supporting the consortium with 16.4 million euros during its first funding period.