The Lusatia - Life & Technology Alliance (L&T) successfully raises investment funds from the BMBF.
Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU) in Zittau have successfully raised a total of EUR 3 million in investment funds for Upper Lusatia from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the Lusatia - Life & Technology (L& T ) alliance.
Research institutions were able to apply for the investment funds as part of the WiR! - Wandel durch Innovation in der Region (Change through Innovation in the Region ) programme to improve innovative capacity in the areas of additive manufacturing and networked energy systems and storage technologies as well as to strengthen communication within the alliance (digitalization). Of the EUR 3 million approved, the HSZG raised around EUR 1.4 million for technological investments for the analysis and modification of surfaces, for systems for the investigation of high-temperature storage systems and a high-energy pulse laser for researching the space charge zones in elastomers. The Fraunhofer IWU in Zittau was able to raise around 1.6 million euros for a powder-based high-performance 3D printer with a large build space and multi-laser technology for the fast and efficient additive manufacturing of large, complex metal components on an industrial scale.
What happens with this printer and what impact it will have on the local industry can be seen in the following video:
This federal funding will be used to invest in Upper Lusatia in the long term and strengthen the development of regional unique selling points . The cooperative approach of the alliance is a particular advantage here. More than 70 regional companies, Lusatian stakeholders and research institutions are now active in the L&T network. This provides important impetus for upcoming research projects and development processes as well as market opportunities for users in Lusatia. The investments form the technical basis for specific R&D projects of the L&T Alliance and lead directly to a technological advantage for the project consortia.
In the innovation field "Networked energy systems and storage systems", the strategic goal is to drive forward the expansion of Lusatia as a business and research location in the field of energy management with a focus on modern storage technologies and a decentralized energy supply. The innovation field "Additive manufacturing" focuses on more cost- and resource-efficient production through the use of innovative 3D printing technologies.
The HSZG's investment application also takes into account the fact that networking and alliance work was and still is a particular challenge in times of the coronavirus pandemic. The aim here is to strengthen digital communication within the alliance, and above all in the region. On the one hand, this will support the transfer of knowledge within the alliance. On the other hand, new digital communication technologies will also be established for the region. This package within the overall investment application includes, for example, state-of-the-art VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) end devices but also investments in the digital creation, processing and use of scientific content or topics. These in turn serve STEM education on the one hand, but can also be used by companies for the purpose of further training on the other.
Further information on the individual projects can be found in our project overview. Information on the project Wir! - Change through innovation in the region can be found on the website of the Federal Ministry at innovation-strukturwandel.de/wir
