The mobility industry is changing and the demands on materials and surfaces are also changing. Continuous development of sustainability goals and recyclability requirements are creating new challenges and opportunities for the use of bio-based and recycled materials. Technological progress and social rethinking in the direction of autonomous driving and shared mobility mean that vehicle concepts, the way they are used and the properties and functionalization of surfaces need to be rethought.
The Joint Research Group: Sustainable Material and Surface Systems conducts interdisciplinary research into these issues. In a network of chemists, physicists, material engineers, designers, life cycle engineers and constructors, new approaches are being tested in all aspects of recycled material processing, the focus is on concepts and issues relating to the future use of vehicles. Usage analysis will be used to generate insights into optimized material use and maintenance. VR and AR processes are used to evaluate usage scenarios and simulate user-related experiences.
The IWF focuses on the development of life cycle engineering models for innovative vehicles, components and materials to enable circular and sustainable product design in early development phases.