Open Hybrid Lab Factory

Open Hybrid LabFactory Research Campus – The LightweightCampus

Developing Materials and Production Technologies for Cost-Effective and Multifunctional Lightweight Construction

ENGEL v-duo 3600 injection moulding machine (Source: Volkswagen AG)

Lightweight construction is one of the key enabling technologies for car manufacturing of tomorrow and for solving central issues facing the automotive industry of the future such as digital transformation and e-mobility as well as energy and resource efficiency. The Open Hybrid LabFactory LightweightCampus is based on a new kind of cooperation model which will enable the development of novel and innovative lightweighting solutions for coming generations of cars. Activities in the research campus are focusing on the simultaneous development of both materials and production technologies for multi-material, that is to say hybrid, lightweight components. The research factory on the campus covers the entire value chain of hybrid components: from their conception to the development and production of textile and carbon fibres to hybrid production processes and recycling.

All the steps in the production process are coordinated by internationally leading technology companies which are feeding their know-how into the shared facility. Research in the factory is interdisciplinary and cooperative, creating synergies along the entire production chain which enable the researchers involved to tap into unexplored potentials in materials development and cost-effective lightweight construction. The Open Hybrid LabFactory thus provides perfect conditions for enabling academic and industrial research to cooperate efficiently and on an equal footing under a single roof in order to accelerate research and development processes. The research campus also promotes training in the required skills by offering young researchers specific classes, internships and the possibility to write their Bachelor’s or Master’s theses on the basis of infrastructures available at the Open Hybrid LabFactory. Moreover, the campus has an internationalization strategy to foster networking with other research institutions and companies.

The Open Hybrid LabFactory is located in the town of Wolfsburg, not far from the Volkswagen AG parent plant and in the immediate vicinity of Volkswagen’s MobileLifeCampus. It serves as a competence and research centre for cost-efficient lightweight engineering and innovative materials and manufacturing technologies. The Research Campus brings together the Automotive Research Centre Niedersachsen (NFF) at TU Braunschweig, Volkswagen, BASF, DowAksa, Engel, IAV, Magna, Siempelkamp, ThyssenKrupp, ZwickRoell, various Fraunhofer institutes, Clausthal University of Technology and Leibniz Universität Hannover as well as many small and medium-sized enterprises.

Partners in the Research Campus