Raw material extraction tower

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Today’s adoption of the Structural Reinforcement Act for Mining Regions also paved the way for four new facilities of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to open in Germany’s lignite-mining areas. The new facilities are part of the federal structural support for these regions as set out in the Act.

Said Economic Affairs Minister Peter Altmaier: “A successful structural change in the lignite-mining areas will generate new jobs and prepare our business sector for the future. This is the way in which we can put ourselves in a top position internationally. The Structural Reinforcement Act for Mining Regions was designed in pursuit of this goal. I am pleased that we in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy can also play our part in this. The four new DLR facilities will be working on forward-looking research that is highly relevant to our economy and to mitigating climate change.”

The Rhenish mining region is to host two of the facilities: the DLR Institute of Future Fuels will be located in Jülich and focus on the solar-thermal production of fuels on an industrial scale. And a new facility in Aachen/Merzbrück will be dedicated to electric air mobility (small aircraft, air taxis, urban air mobility). Working on the development of innovative hybrid-electric turbines for air travel will be the task for a new DLR Institute for Low-Emission Aero Engines in Cottbus, in the Lausitz lignite-mining region. And in Cochstedt, in the eastern German lignite-mining region, the DLR Umanned Aircraft Systems Competence Center will be studying unmanned air travel systems.

With approximately 9,000 staff, DLR is one of Germany’s largest research institutions in the field of engineering in Germany. There are 28 research locations in Germany, specialising in air and space travel, energy supply, transport, security, and digitisation. For more information, go to www.dlr.de (in German)