Taking off into the future: Lecture series provides information on new drives for the aviation of tomorrow

Anyone interested is invited to attend the lecture "Taking off into the future: New drives for the aviation of tomorrow" in the main campus lecture theatre at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU). Registration is not required. Admission is free.
This event continues the new thematic block "Aerospace - Lusatian research above the clouds" of the public lecture series "Open BTU".

How will we fly in the future - more quietly, with lower emissions, more efficiently? In this lecture, the German Aerospace Centre will provide exciting insights into the aviation propulsion research of yesterday, today and tomorrow - from the first propellers to state-of-the-art electric propulsion systems. Participants will experience the development of the technology at first hand. Highlights include a live experiment on electrified flight and discussions on the challenges and opportunities of climate-friendly propulsion systems. Participants will learn how innovations in aviation are helping to shape our future. To this end, the DLR_School_Lab BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg will show how a fuel cell can be used to generate electricity from hydrogen in order to propel an aircraft in the most climate-friendly way possible.

Chair: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Georg Möhlenkamp, BTU, Chair of Power electronics and drive systems

The lecture is organised in cooperation with the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Further information on the DLR site in Cottbus can be found here:https://www.dlr.de/de/das-dlr/standorte-und-bueros/cottbus

Date: Wednesday, 5 November 2025, 17:30 to 19:00
Location: BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, large lecture theatre at the Cottbus main campus,
Konrad-Zuse-Straße 4, 03046 Cottbus

Lars Enghardt worked at the Institute of Propulsion Technology at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Berlin from 1997 to 2023. In 2009, he was appointed Professor for the Chair of Turbomachinery and Thermoacoustics at the University of Technology Berlin, where he also headed the DLR Department of Engine Acoustics. From 2020, he will be setting up a new DLR institute in Cottbus, which will focus on electrified aircraft engines. In 2023, he was appointed Professor for the Chair of Electrified Aircraft Propulsion Systems at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus, along with the management of the new DLR institute. Together with three other DLR institutes dedicated to propulsion research, the institute forms DLR's Flight Propulsion Technology Cluster.

Stefan Richter began his studies at BTU in 2008 and graduated with a diploma in Business Administration and Engineering and a Master's degree in Power Engineering. He has been working as a research assistant at the Chair of Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics under Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Egbers since 2016 and will finalise his doctoral studies in the field of pipe flow this year. At the same time, he has been head of the DLR_School_Lab BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg since 2023.

About the Open BTU lecture series
From 15 October 2025 to 28 January 2026, the Open BTU public lecture series will offer insights into exciting fields of knowledge. With this educational format, which is open to all interested parties, the university's Centre for Continuing Education supports lifelong learning and funds the transfer of knowledge and ideas in the region by addressing socially relevant issues. The BTU co-operates with other universities and institutions.

With this educational format, which is open to all interested parties, the University's Centre for Continuing Education supports lifelong learning and funds the transfer of knowledge and ideas in the region by addressing socially relevant issues. The BTU co-operates with other universities and institutions. Each lecture will be followed by an opportunity for questions and dialogue with the speakers. Anyone interested is cordially invited to take part in the wide range of events on offer.

In the current winter semester, the following topics will be examined from different perspectives:

Aerospace - Lusatian research above the clouds
with the following further dates:

• 19 November
  The BTU's space experiments: A (pictorial) journey into the past, present and future of the Geo and AtmoFlow experiments
  Officer: Prof. Dr Christoph Egbers, BTU, Chair of Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics
• 3 December
  Mayday, Mayday: The climate impact of aviation is increasing
  Speaker: Anita Demuth, Deputy Head of PtX Lab Lausitz
  
  Democracy - past, present and prospects
• 28 January 2026
  Meltdown of democracy
  Officer: Dr Christoph Maximilian Abels,University of Potsdam, ERC project PRODEMINFO

More about the Open BTU public lecture series:
https://www.b-tu.de/weiterbildung/offene-hochschule/open-btu