Green, but also economically viable? — About 160 entrepreneurs, scientists, students, and other guests from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Switzerland on January 29, 2025, at the 2nd Zittau Plastics and Lightweight Construction Conference (ZKLT), and discussed ways to achieve competitive decarbonization in the plastics and lightweight construction industries.

From high-load NFK underbody structures to climate-neutral aircraft and 3D-printed boats made of biopolymers, all the way to satellites made of wood —a total of 12 high-profile speakers from academia and industry captivated the audience in Building IV of the HSZG with inspiring presentations on innovations and best-practice examples from plastics processing and fiber-reinforced composite lightweight construction—and impressively demonstrated that sustainability, performance, and cost-effectiveness can indeed go hand in hand.

New technologies, sustainable plastic composites, and innovative lightweight construction concepts contribute to a drastic reduction in the carbon footprint without compromising performance. The challenge now is to bring these innovations into mass production to protect our climate and future-proof the plastics industry.

The many conversations during the breaks demonstrated an intensive exchange between industry and academia, as well as among participants from various countries. In addition to visiting the accompanying exhibition, which featured impressive displays related to the conference theme, many attendees also took the opportunity to tour the plastics laboratories at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the Fraunhofer Institute, where they learned about current research being conducted at the Zittau campus.