Making process chains in additive manufacturing more resource-efficient – that is the aim of the new CZS Center for Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency using Additive Manufacturing Technologies (KRAFt Center). The Environmental Campus Birkenfeld at Trier University of Applied Sciences, Aalen University of Applied Sciences, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are involved in this project. The Carl Zeiss Foundation is funding the project with EUR 12 million. The opening and symbolic check handover took place today, May 15, 2025, at the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld of Trier University of Applied Sciences.
The newly founded research network addresses the responsible use of limited resources such as raw materials and energy, which is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. To achieve this, the researchers use the potential of additive manufacturing, which makes it possible to develop new kinds of components with high functionality and to use specially prepared secondary materials in additive plastic and metal processes for resource-efficient production. This saves on resources during product manufacturing, but also during the production process. Within the center, ten interdisciplinary working groups cover the entire process chain of additive manufacturing, for plastics as well as metals and technical ceramics – from precise materials characterization and material and energy data analysis to the development of improved manufacturing processes and optimized products.
“A more efficient use of resources is essential for sustainable economic and social growth. As an interdisciplinary research network, the CZS KRAFt Center pools expertise across locations and focuses on the entire additive manufacturing process from various perspectives. We hope this will lead to new solutions for the circular economy,” explains Dr. Felix Streiter, Managing Director of the Carl Zeiss Foundation.
“Given the limited availability of resources, we urgently need to rethink how we use them, bearing future generations in mind,” says Professor Thomas Hirth, Vice President Transfer and International Affairs at KIT. “Only sustainable innovations and resource-efficient technologies can guarantee a future worth living in for everyone. The new center will help us do just that.”
“We can meet the challenges posed by scarce resources using sustainable production methods. Alongside innovative ideas, we need an open, interdisciplinary cooperation based on trust,” says Professor Joachim Knebel, Head of Division III – Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at KIT. “We can achieve this by combining the innovative ideas of young people with responsibility and creative freedom.”
Development of Resource-Conserving Process Chains
The aim of the center is to obtain high-quality primary materials and to make the entire additive manufacturing process chain resource-efficient. In addition to optimizing ecological and economic parameters, the participants carry out comprehensive life cycle analyzes. By doing so, they want to demonstrate and visualize how the integrated use of secondary materials helps to reduce the use of primary raw materials. What is more, the center aims to capture and optimize energy chains in detail to make a sustainable contribution to resource conservation. Collaboration with 24 external partners, primarily from industry, will also ensure that the newly developed solutions can be transferred to a wide range of applications.
In line with the motto “We are laying the foundations for a sustainable and resource-efficient future using innovative additive manufacturing technologies,” the project managers officially launched the new center on May 15, 2025. Professor Frederik Zanger from KIT’s wbk Institute of Production Science is the KIT site manager. Together with Professor Christian Greiner from the Institute for Applied Materials – Mechanics of Materials and Interfaces at KIT and Professor Christoph Klahn from KIT’s Institute for Micro Process Engineering, he is working on the goals set by the center
About the Carl Zeiss Foundation
The Carl Zeiss Foundation is committed to creating settings that foster scientific breakthroughs. As a partner for first-class science, it supports both basic research and application-oriented research and teaching in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Established in 1889 by physicist and mathematician Ernst Abbe, the Carl Zeiss Foundation is one of the oldest and largest private foundations for the promotion of science in Germany.
Caption: Handover of the donation cheque at the opening of the KRAFt Center. (from left): Professor Taha, Hochschule Aalen; Professor Dorit Schumann, President of the Hochschule Trier; Professor Michael Wahl, Hochschule Trier, Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld; Professor Joachim Knebel, Head of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, KIT; Dr. Karla Hillerich, Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung (CZS); Professor Henrik te Heesen, Vice President of the Hochschule Trier; Professor Frederik Zanger, KIT; Professor Harald Riegel, Rector of the Hochschule Aalen; Matthias Stolzenburg, CZS. (Photo: Jannik Scheer, Hochschule Trier, Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld)
Further Information (in German)
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
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