Professionals and research

Niedersachsen provides access to education and training across the entire aviation and aerospace value chain. A unique pool of universities, non-university research institutions, research infrastructure and research-intensive companies complements and expands the offer.

In addition to numerous universities, Niedersachsen also many institutes of the non-university research organizations like Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Max Planck- and Fraunhofer-Society. DLR has sites in Hannover, Braunschweig, Göttingen, Trauen, Oldenburg and Stade and conducts research with the institutes located there in fields such as fiber composite lightweight construction, adaptronics, acoustics, satellite geodesy and inertial sensor technology. The cities of Hannover (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics) and Göttingen (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research) are also home to institutes of the Max Planck Society related to the industry. Institutes of the Fraunhofer-Society located in Niedersachsen with a thematic connection are the Fraunhofer IST (Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films) at the Braunschweig site and the Fraunhofer IFAM (Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials), among others in Stade.

A high-performance lightweight construction ecosystem has developed in Stade, which includes DLR and Fraunhofer IFAM as well as the Research cooperation in Niedersachsen for the high-performance production of CFRP structures (HP CFRP). This is also based at the CFK Nord research center, where cutting-edge research is carried out in the composites field. The CU Nord cluster of Composites United e.V. is also managed from here. From their base in Stade, CTC GmbH is driving forward the development of technologies for the automated processing of CFRP as a pioneer and trailblazer for series-production-ready lightweight construction using composites and at the neighboring Stade plant Airbus manufactures CFRP vertical stabilizers, among other things.

The Technology Center Nordenham (TZN) is located next to the Airbus plant in Nordenham. The active companies here implement production-related development projects in large-scale component construction for the automation of assembly processes and manufacturing technologies in aircraft construction. For the shipbuilding and wind energy industries, which are also important in the region, the technology center also offers space for synergies.

Cross-sector collaboration between research and industry also takes place at the Technology Center Varel (TZV), also known as "Aeropark Varel-Friesland". The focus is on metalworking and is therefore an ideal complement to the CFRP locations in Niedersachsen. At TZV, the latest manufacturing technologies for aerostructures are integrated and developed to solve tomorrow's challenges. Varel is also home to the Manufacturing Innovations Network (MIN). The network's declared goal is the joint development of innovative products and processes as well as technology-driven manufacturing solutions with a focus on the aerospace sector.

The Research Airport Braunschweig is one of the most innovative business and science clusters in Europe. With their cross-modal portfolio, Europe's leading competence center for mobility issues is developing here. The special feature is the internationally unique infrastructure with research aircraft, wind tunnels, simulators and test stands, which are concentrated in one place alongside the airport infrastructure. In addition, there is a regulatory authority, such as the Federal Aviation Authority (LBA) and the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU), which complement the network.

Braunschweig is also home to the Niedersachsen Aeronautics Research Center (NFL), which brings together the aerospace engineering institutes of the Technical University of Braunschweig, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Leibniz University of Hannover (LUH), the Fraunhofer Society and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). The NFL offers the entire range of services from basic research to application-oriented technology development and testing, using an internationally unique infrastructure with research aircraft, wind tunnels, simulators and test stands.

The Braunschweig site is also home to the Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation (SE2A) cluster of excellence, an interdisciplinary research project with the aim of investigating technologies for the sustainable and environmentally compatible development of aviation. In the cluster, scientists from the fields of aviation, electrical engineering, energy, chemistry and design are working on the reduction of emissions, the reduction of noise pollution, the recyclability of air transport systems and the further development of air traffic management. In addition to the Technical University of Braunschweig, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Leibniz University of Hannover (LUH), the Braunschweig University of Art (HBK) and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) are involved.

For the latest information on the mentioned research facilities, companies and clusters above, please visit the following websites:

DLR sites Hannover, Braunschweig, Göttingen, Trauen, Oldenburg, Stade

Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics

Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research

Fraunhofer IST location Braunschweig

Fraunhofer IFAM location Stade

Research cooperation in Niedersachsen for the high-performance production of CFRP structures (HP CFRP)

Research center CFK Nord

Cluster CU Nord of Composites United e.V.

CTC GmbH

Airbus

Technology Center Nordenham (TZN)