It had been on the agenda for a long time, and now it finally came about: a visit by employees of the Thuringian Innovation Center for Mobility (ThIMo) to the Thuringian Institute for Textile and Plastics Research (TITK). There is a long-standing cooperation between the partners from Ilmenau and Rudolstadt, which excellently complements the interaction of the TITK with the TU Ilmenau and the plastics technology department located there.
During their visit to Rudolstadt, the guests led by Prof. Dr. Matthias Hein were now given an insight into business-oriented research, in which there is close cooperation especially in the field of lightweight construction and composite materials. This bridging of the gap between basic research and application-oriented industrial research is used to jointly drive forward innovations. A side effect that should not be underestimated is that this cooperation also helps to avoid redundant investments in research infrastructure.
For example, a sheet extrusion plant for joint lightweight construction projects went into operation at TITK in the fall of 2020. Currently, another pilot plant is in preparation to establish a value chain for fiber-reinforced UD tapes. "By pooling resources and expertise, we can increase the efficiency of our research projects and enhance the quality of results. The end-to-end research value chain with a strong transfer focus benefits our industrial partners in particular, who gain competitiveness through innovative products and processes," says TITK Director Benjamin Redlingshöfer.
In addition to lightweight construction applications, the TITK has been acting as a global competence center in pulp research for several decades and is currently also planning an innovation center, for which the ThIMO and the TU Ilmenau have already pledged their support in a letter of intent. The "DICE" (Demonstration and Innovation Center for Textile Circular Economy) is to develop solutions for practical fiber-to-fiber recycling in the field of apparel and technical textiles and thus strengthen a field that is currently showing enormous growth dynamics worldwide.
With the new EU regulation on the mandatory return and recycling of used textiles coming into force from 2025, the focus on the textile industry and the requirements for the circular economy will continue to increase. ThIMO and TITK also see great potential in this for their joint activities. After all, thanks to modern recycling technology, cellulose filaments for new lightweight construction applications can also be created from used textiles, for example.
During the subsequent tour of the pilot plant by Dr. Thomas Reussmann and Prof. Dr. Florian Puch, initial ideas for further future research projects of both partners were discussed.
