HPCFK Consortium Launches RE:LIGHT for Recyclable Composite Structures
SNAPSHOT: The multi-university research group will expand its CFK NORD facilities in Stade, Germany, to study circular materials, laser-based manufacturing and robotics for TPC aircraft components.
Source | IFW
The HPCFK research collaboration (Stade, Germany) is expanding its research infrastructure at the CFK NORD site in Stade, Germany, through a new project called RE:LIGHT — REcyclable LIGHTweight Technologies. As highlighted on LinkedIn, the project will focus on circular lightweight materials and resource-efficient manufacturing, laser-based manufacturing, joining and separation technologies for fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites, as well as cognitive and humanoid robotics for flexible production and recycling.
HPCFK unites three German university institutes based at CFK NORD: the Institute of Production Engineering and Machine Tools (IFW) at Leibniz University Hannover (Garbsen), the Institute of Aircraft Design and Lightweight Structures (IFL) at the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Institute of Polymer Materials and Plastics Engineering (PuK) at the Technical University of Clausthal (Clausthal-Zellerfeld). According to IFW’s project page, RE:LIGHT runs from July 2026 through December 2028 and is funded by Lower Saxony’s Ministry of Science and Culture and NBank, drawing on European Regional Development Fund resources under the EU’s Platform for Strategic Technologies for Europe.
The project responds to pressure on aircraft manufacturers to produce lightweight structures more sustainably and economically, even as demand grows for greater production flexibility and part variety and labor shortages push the industry toward new automation approaches. RE:LIGHT aims to build research environments spanning the full thermoplastic lightweight manufacturing process chain — from material development through manufacturing and structural testing to repair, disassembly and recycling — supported by adaptive robotics and assistance systems meant to let researchers test production and recycling processes under near-industrial conditions.
IFW says the expanded infrastructure is meant to give companies, including small and mid-size manufacturers, faster access to test new technologies and reduce development risk as they pursue technology transfer with the university partners. RE:LIGHT as also part of a broader development strategy for CFK NORD: the work complements ongoing research at the site from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Fraunhofer IFAM, together building out complementary research platforms for sustainable and adaptive lightweight technologies.
For more information, visit HPCFK’s project page or IFW’s RE:LIGHT project page.
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