"Investing in innovation is the secret to the success of German growth!" With these words, Bundestag member Michael Kretschmer congratulated the project managers of LaNDER³ at the kick-off event on July 6, . In 2016, they were the only university in eastern Germany to be successful in the second round of the application phase of the BMBF's FH-Impuls call for proposals out of 20 finalists.

The cross-faculty and cross-institute research project is now set to gain real momentum. Project manager Dr. Matthias Kinne and partnership spokesperson Prof. Jens Weber invited guests from politics, business, university members and interested parties to the Peter-Dierich-Haus to provide an overview of the content and project goals. LaNDER³ stands for "Lusatian Natural Fibre Composites Decentralized Energy, Raw Materials, Resources, Recycling". The idea behind it is to "bundle forces and pool expertise", says partnership spokesperson Prof. Jens Weber from the Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences. "It's not just about material production or the provision of fibers, but about looking at the entire cycle."

Research topics therefore range from renewable fibers and the way in which they are subsequently used to produce an attractive workpiece, through to recycling and energy generation processes that are to be created in the process. The field of work and tasks is just as broad as the usability of the workpieces generated from natural fiber composites.

Two impulse projects and an explorative project are intended to help link these processes intelligently. "Impulse project 1: Raw materials, recycling and energy supply" aims to obtain high-quality natural fibers from plant-based raw materials and to provide sustainable recycling concepts for natural fiber-reinforced plastics. In addition, research is being carried out to recover the energy content of the recycled materials elsewhere. The project manager is the Vice-Rector for Research at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Tobias Zschunke.

The "Explorative project: Functionalization of natural fibres to open up new applications" is headed by Prof. Jens Weber. Among other things, this involves clarifying the question of how the fiber is integrated into the plastic composite so that it holds together well. In "Impulse project 2: Efficient manufacturing processes for innovative natural fibre-plastic composites", headed by Prof. Sebastian Scholz, everything revolves around the provision of natural fibres (impulse project 1) and their functionalization (explorative project) and the forming of a corresponding component from them.

  "LaNDER³ has prevailed because it is a great topic. It has occupied a niche. It is clear to every interested citizen that the topic is of enormous importance for global development," says Christoph Zimmer-Conrad. The Head of Technology Policy at the Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport was delighted that with LaNDER³, the Free State is well on the way to writing another chapter in the success story of Saxony as a high-tech state. 

Text: Cornelia Rothe, M. A.