Green, but also economical? - Around 160 entrepreneurs, scientists, students and other guests from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Switzerland got to the bottom of this question on 29 January 2025 at the 2nd Zittau Plastics and Lightweight Construction Conference (ZKLT) and discussed ways to competitively decarbonize the plastics and lightweight construction industry.

From highly stressed NFRP underbody structures to climate-neutral aircraft and 3D-printed boats made of biopolymers to satellites made of wood - a total of 12 top-class speakers from science and industry inspired the auditorium in House IV of the HSZG with inspiring presentations on innovations and best-practice examples from plastics processing and lightweight fiber composite construction - and impressively demonstrated that sustainability, performance and cost-effectiveness can go hand in hand.

New technologies, sustainable plastic composites and innovative lightweight construction concepts are helping to drastically reduce the_{carbon footprint} without compromising on performance. The challenge now is to get these innovations into series production in order to protect our climate and future-proof the plastics industry.

The many discussions during the breaks showed an intensive exchange between industry and science as well as between the participants from different nations. In addition to visiting the accompanying exhibition with impressive exhibits on the topic of the conference, many conference participants also took the opportunity to visit the plastics laboratories of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the Fraunhofer Institute and find out about current research at the Zittau site.