From plan to reality: Ground-breaking ceremony for the research campus at the Lausitz Science Park

A research campus is taking shape

On 1 October, representatives from the worlds of politics, academia and research gathered at the site where new research buildings are to be constructed in the coming years to take part in a joint ground-breaking ceremony. This marks the start of development work on the new research campus, a key component of the Lausitz Science Park.

A modern research site is to be built by 2030 on a site covering around 50,000 square metres, in the immediate vicinity of the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg. The physical proximity of university and non-university research creates ideal conditions for new collaborations, joint projects and the transfer of scientific findings into practical applications.

The campus is part of the structural transformation in Lusatia and is funded by the federal government through the Coal Regions Investment Act, as well as co-financed by the State of Brandenburg.

Strong research partners in one location

Several research institutions with different, complementary areas of focus will be represented on the new campus.

The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) will conduct research on the campus through two institutes: the DLR Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes and the DLR Institute for Electrified Aero Engines.

The Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes focuses on technologies for decarbonising industrial processes. Among other things, it concentrates on solutions that can contribute to the energy transition and to reducing industrial CO₂ emissions. The Institute for Electrified Aero Engines, on the other hand, develops and researches innovative hybrid-electric and fully electric propulsion systems for aviation.

In addition, there are the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies (IEG) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS). The Fraunhofer IEG is further expanding its research into sustainable energy systems in Cottbus – including in the fields of large-scale heat pumps, energy storage, Integrated Energy Infrastructures and geotechnologies.

TheLeibniz-Institute for Innovations for High Performance Electronics brings another strong research partner to the table. This means that expertise in Microelectronics, intelligent sensor systems, energy, industry and aviation all come together on the campus.

It is precisely this combination of different research fields that is a key element of the new campus: questions about the future should not be considered in isolation, but rather where different scientific disciplines and technologies converge.

Funding approvals for the development handed over

The ground-breaking ceremony also marked an important financial milestone for the project’s further development.

Brandenburg’s Minister-President Dr Dietmar Woidke, the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, Dr Silke Launert, and Brandenburg’s Minister for Science, Research and Culture, Dr Manja Schüle, presented the funding notifications for the development of the research campus.

Together with representatives from the DLR, the Fraunhofer Society, the IHP and the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, this marked the start of the next phase of the campus’s development.

Bringing research, industry and technology transfer closer together

The new research campus is more than the sum of its individual research buildings. It forms part of the long-term development of the Lausitz Science Park as a centre for science and innovation.

The aim is to forge closer links – both in terms of physical location and content – between research institutions, the university, innovative companies and other partners. Short distances are intended to facilitate collaboration, promote exchange between different disciplines and help to translate scientific findings into practical applications more quickly.

This will simultaneously open up new prospects for Cottbus and the Lusatia region as centres of business and science: for skilled jobs, for students and early-career researchers, for business collaborations and for attracting further innovative players to the area.

A visible step forward for the Lausitz Science Park

The ground-breaking ceremony marks the start of a development that goes far beyond the construction of individual institutes. Step by step, a hub is taking shape on the Lausitz Science Park site where science, business and technology transfer come together directly.

The research campus forms an important building block in this regard. With the new research infrastructures and the immediate proximity to BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, new opportunities for joint research, technology transfer and innovation are emerging.

The ground-breaking ceremony therefore marks not only the start of the development of a new campus; it also represents the next concrete step towards establishing an internationally recognised centre for science and innovation in Cottbus and the Lusatia region.