Wildau: New building for sustainable lightweight construction technologies inaugurated

With the new office and laboratory building of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP at the Wildau location, a unique contact point for sustainable and holistic lightweight construction technologies has been created on an area of 2,700 square meters. The construction costs amounted to 20.5 million euros. The total funding amounting to 19.4 million euros was funded 80 percent from funds from the European Regional Development Fund and ten percent each from the Federal Government and the State of Brandenburg. On May 25, 2022, the new building was formally inaugurated.

In the new office and laboratory building that was planned and realized by the architectural firm Burkhardt+Partner, energy-efficient and sustainable lightweight construction systems and materials are developed that meet the high demands of aerospace technology, energy technology, and vehicle construction. For this purpose, the Polymer Materials and Composites PYCO research area combines material and engineering sciences with the entire value chain in a unique way.

Brandenburg’s Research State Secretary, Steffen Weber, said: "Recyclable wind turbines and sustainable composites for aerospace are just a few examples of next-generation efficient lightweight structures. Lightweight construction is an essential component of the energy transition and the necessary achievement of climate targets. With the new office and laboratory building, the Fraunhofer IAP can work even more effectively, purposefully, and customer-oriented on solutions for the future. Furthermore, the new building is a strong signal for Lusatia: the collaboration of PYCO in Wildau with the Brandenburg Technical University and Fraunhofer facilities in Cottbus provides important impulses in Lusatia to successfully shape structural change and transfer technologies from research to application. Thus, the Fraunhofer IAP impressively proves that Brandenburg is the state of bio-economy and sustainability research."

Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: "Numerous industries are faced with the challenge of having to produce more sustainably and more resource-efficiently while at the same time increasing the performance and durability of the materials and construction methods used. Accordingly, innovations in the field of materials research are of essential importance," says Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. "We have set a milestone with today’s inauguration of the new laboratory and office building of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP. With the resulting research capacities, we are driving the transformation of the region into an ecosystem for lightweight construction applications – with innovative materials combinations as the driving force. I am convinced that our commitment is a decisive step for Brandenburg and all of Germany to position itself excellently in the field of this key technology also in international competition."

"Our regional and national partners from industry and research benefit greatly from the bundling of our lightweight construction competencies under one roof and the latest technology, because they receive holistic system solutions for their lightweight construction applications from a single source – from polymer development and processing of novel manufacturing technologies for high-performance components to forward-looking optimization strategies and recycling concepts," explained Prof. Holger Seidlitz, Division Director Polymeric Materials and Composites (PYCO).

Prof. Alexander Böker, Director of the Fraunhofer IAP, added: "The new building provides an ideal basis for developing new solutions to challenging future issues. These include megatrends such as digitalization and biologization of technology, as well as the energy transition and, in particular, the challenges of establishing an end-to-end hydrogen economy. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this important construction project."

Until 2020, the PYCO working groups on synthesis, resin formulation, and component manufacture were split between two locations: Teltow, which belonged to the Academy of Sciences as the Institute for Fiber Research in the GDR, and Wildau. They are now reunited under one roof in Wildau. The modern building is not only equipped with the latest technology, but also offers numerous researchers excellent conditions for interdisciplinary cooperation.

Gunnar Rekersdrees, project leading architect, Burckhardt+Partner explained: "The appearance of the building, which was erected on the narrowest of plots, represents the research tasks of the institute.The theme of material layering is cited in the design of the facades as a focus of the research work of the Institute. The horizontal structure of the building shell deliberately transfers the research content to the outside and simultaneously reflects the various functions of the PYCO research area."

The new building's compact structure enabled flexibility and forward-thinking adaptability, allowing the institute's future development to be as spatially open as possible.

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