Industrial resilience through technological sovereignty
In materials science, ›resilience‹ refers to a material’s ability to return to its original state following extreme strain. Applied to other fields, such as industry and business, the term represents a great ability to resist external influencing factors. In both cases, it is about withstanding maximum strain without suffering damage. The member companies of FVV are also subjected to strains that, in future, could call into question business models that are still successful today. For example, companies have to invest heavily in research and development in order to meet net‑zero greenhouse gas emissions targets – even though the road to climate neutrality is far from set in stone, but constantly changing due to internal and external factors. Implementing this transformation with resilience will therefore require moving away from technological monoculture and fostering diversity in research and development.
That is why FVV has consistently expanded its research activities in recent years to include new energy sources and converters. Today, our projects cover a broad spectrum of different technologies, such as combustion engines and turbomachinery with alternative fuels, fuel cells and electric motors. Our assessment of research topics is not driven by ideology. What matters for selection is the potential of each concept to contribute to climate neutrality. This strategy enables us to achieve comprehensive research results in all promising fields of the energy conversion systems of the future. Companies that exploit the synergies provided by this input to pre-competitive collective research and thus complement their own research activities in a meaningful manner are able to expand their technological coverage quickly and efficiently. Gaining this knowledge gives them the authority they need to make product decisions based on facts and a broad range of technologies, so that they can choose the best solution for every challenge. At the same time, their resilience is increased, as the pool of knowledge developed by all the companies together provides alternatives if a technology pathway begins to lose significance due to unforeseen circumstances. These fall-back levels safeguard progress towards climate neutrality and make the transformation more robust.
Dr. Markus Schwaderlapp // Martin NitscheThe road to climate neutrality is far from set in stone, but constantly changing due to internal and external factors. Implementing this transformation with resilience will therefore require moving away from technological monoculture and fostering diversity in research and development.
FVV’s orientation studies also act to boost the sovereignty that member companies gain through their more advanced technological expertise. The focus here is on expanding the horizon to consider aspects outside FVV’s network. We have set ourselves the challenge of answering questions that arise in connection with attempts to achieve carbon neutrality in the European energy supply and the associated defossilisation of other industrial fields and business sectors. By doing so, we plan to provide a complete picture of the available technologies and thus contribute to a better understanding of the overarching ecosystem, with the most important connections and interactions. Currently, we are conducting a comprehensive study that aims to provide insights into the overarching impacts of using greenhouse gas-neutral technologies across various sectors, such as transport, industry and homes, in Europe between now and 2050. Initial results are expected by the end of 2025. FVV’s new energy study will increase companies’ resilience by giving our members knowledge of a climate-neutral European energy system that will enable them to adapt their own transformation strategies more effectively to the technological constraints.
›To stand still is to go backwards‹, as the well-known saying goes. In a world that is constantly developing at a rapid pace, only those who think progressively and play an active role in shaping the future will succeed. This approach lies at the heart of all of FVV’s activities – the generic code that is also encapsulated in our claim ›Science for a moving society‹. For us, progress means maintaining an open mind and gaining inspiration from member companies, science and society. For some time now, there has been concern about the falling numbers of students in STEM subjects, resulting in more and more companies facing a shortage of specialist staff. FVV believes that the sustainability of German industry depends on actively supporting the next generation. The application-oriented projects of Industrial Collective Research are perfect for this task, giving undergraduate and doctoral students an opportunity to work with experienced researchers on specific topics relevant to industry. Not only are the talented young people faced with challenging tasks, but they also receive operative and organisational support from experts on project committees. Both sides benefit enormously: The students are able to gain insight into scientific project work at industrial level, while the companies see the potential of the next generation. More than 150 students in scientific and technical fields pass through this FVV support programme every year. According to our observations, almost 100 percent of these students go on to find work in industry. FVV is thus helping to boost the sector’s resilience to the shortage of engineers. FVV’s activities would be unthinkable without the countless active members in our network, who invest a lot of time in collective project work and thus help to shape fields such as ›technological sovereignty‹ and ‹industrial resilience‹ through science. We would like to thank you for your commitment!
