Lightweighting is a revolution that starts not with the manufacturing of a product on the shop floor but during the development stages. In general it can be said that all competitive products, irrespective of the sector in which they are being developed, will be based to some extent on lightweight structures, even if they are not explicitly “labelled”. At the same time, the revolution in manufacturing processes is one of the biggest challenges relating to this development.

New materials take time to test and almost always require new manufacturing processes. It is important for these processes to be standardised and mass production to become possible. Car-makers in particular demand high throughput rates in series production. Possible extra costs in product manufacturing must result in significant savings once the product is in use. That is the only way to justify the higher purchase price to the final consumer.

Sustainability via a circular economy

The greater the number of different materials which are joined together to make a product, the more challenging is the recovery of the recyclable materials for the manufacturing process. All of the processes from design and manufacture to use and re-use must be thought through at the initial drafting stage or the time when the product is redesigned. The aim has to be a circular economy approach which returns the valuable or even rare materials to the production process. There is a need for more research and development work in this field.

The manufacture, processing and maintenance or repair of products from new materials is challenging and demands sophisticated expertise which can only be acquired via specially designed training courses. For this reason, the teaching and handling of lightweighting methods and materials must become much more integrated into general education, vocational training and degree courses.

Despite these challenges, it is important to make the best possible use of the potential of lightweighting for the German economy. To this end, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has launched a number of measures.

Lightweighting is of crucial importance for the competitiveness of many sectors and the thorough modernisation of the industrial sector in Germany. For this reason, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is continuing to expand the support available for this forward looking technology. The Lightweighting Initiative Coordination Office and the Lightweighting Forum offer expert contacts for businesses and a platform for cross-technology and cross-sectoral networking.

The contact point for businesses: the Lightweighting Initiative Coordination Office

The Lightweighting Initiative Coordination Office (Organisational Chart (PDF, 85KB)) is a national and international network hub for German companies, and especially SMEs, supporting the implementation of lightweighting and fostering the cross-sectoral transfer of technology – with activities ranging from backing for initiatives to a more widespread industrial roll-out of lightweighting and its use in mass production.

The Lightweighting Initiative Coordination Office is a central contact point for interested stakeholders from business, science and government. It coordinates the approach to digital structural change in industry in terms of lightweighting in Germany. It provides practical recommendations and examples of best practice for companies and policymakers, as well as customised support, thus giving a decisive boost to the sector and activating suitable multipliers to get the message out. Cooperation between experts at national and international level is helping to enhance Germany’s reputation as a lightweighting centre.

A platform for transferring expertise: the Lightweighting Forum

The Economic Affairs Ministry regularly hosts a Round Table together with the Lightweighting Initiative Coordination Office. This Lightweighting Forum is a platform for a cross-technology and efficient transfer of expertise between the various stakeholders around Germany. The Forum focuses on technology trends, the activities of the Federal Government and the German Länder, and the opportunities and risks associated with foreign markets. The 7th session of the Forum will be held in autumn 2019.
Further information can be obtained from: leichtbau@bmwi.bund.de.

Funding programmes

Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM)

The Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM) is the Economic Affairs Ministry’s core programme for the market-based funding of technology for innovative German SMEs. More (in German).

The Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy’s Innovation Vouchers (go-inno)

The Innovation Vouchers from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy fund external management and advice from authorised consultants to help with preparing and implementing product and technical process innovations in companies with technological potential. The funding is not restricted in principle to specific technologies, products or sectors. The only precondition is that the company has fewer than 100 employees and an annual turnover of not more than €20 million. More (in German).

Start-Up funding pays off

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is using the EXIST programme to support the establishment of high-tech start-ups in science. After a start-up is created, the German Accelerator programme provides further support for its internationalisation and market expansion. Celonis SE is a great example for the success of such activities. More.

The LEICHTBAUATLAS (in German) uses an interactive website to make Germany visible as a lightweighting centre and offers businesses and scientists the possibility to network. A catalogue comprising around 250 criteria has been elaborated in close cooperation with all the key stakeholders helping people to find the right supplier or partner. A text search function and a geographical locator are also available.

The interactive website, which can be used free of charge, makes it easy to find lightweighting expertise in Germany and is open to organisations which have focused their processes and activities on lightweighting and which wish to present them to a wide audience. The LEICHTBAUATLAS takes a cross-material, cross-technology and cross-sectoral approach, and a comprehensive criteria filter permits targeted searches for suppliers or partners. Registered organisations can set up and publish their own profiles.

Producing lightweight structures means using less material, and less material can mean lower costs and better properties. Lightweight materials, lightweight forms and function-integrating lightweighting complement one another to ensure that optimal use is made of raw materials, costs and energy.

Lightweight materials

Here, heavy, dense materials are replaced by lighter materials, e.g. lightweight metals (aluminium, titanium, magnesium) or composites (carbon-fibre composites (CFCs), fibreglass reinforced plastics (FRPs)). Lightweight materials are particularly efficient when, depending on the load and the function, different materials are combined. This is called hybrid or multimaterial lightweighting.

Lightweight forms

Lightweight forms are complex structures which are achieved by optimising the spatial structure (topology) of reinforcements or struts. In many cases, these are based on principles of design taken from nature and called “bionic”. Examples include the hexagonal honeycomb shape or the load-optimised structure of bones. It is often very difficult to reproduce such shapes using traditional methods like casting or milling. Modern, additive manufacturing processes like 3D printing offer the potential for entirely new shapes and designs for lighter and more efficient products.

Integrated function lightweighting

Further functions can be built into load-bearing structures. These functions then do not need to be delivered elsewhere. For example, additive processes make it possible to generate refrigerating structures in components rather than adding them onto the outside. Functional integration in lightweighting also occurs when materials that conduct electricity, such as copper or aluminium, are integrated into composites, saving the need for additional wiring. Functional integration reduces spending on materials and assembly.