Bavaria's Secretary of State for the Economy Katja Hessel presents subsidy confirmation for Green Factory Bayreuth
Apr 29, 2013
Hessel: "Perfect example of Bavaria's politics of the future"
MUNICH/BAYREUTH Bavaria's Secretary of State for the Economy Katja Hessel is today at the University of Bayreuth to present the subsidy confirmation for the establishment of the Green Factory Bayreuth to the Head of the Fraunhofer project group Process Innovation, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Steinhilper. "Green Factory Bavaria is a perfect example of Bavaria's politics of the future. The innovations developed there enable Bavarian industry – especially small and medium-sized companies – to reduce energy requirements in production. This will allow us to further expand Bavaria's strong position as a business location. That is why the Free State is supporting the establishment of the Green Factory at its Bayreuth site with three million euros," emphasises Hessel.
The Green Factory Bayreuth will be an innovative demonstration, teaching and research platform for energy-efficient production. It is intended to make a measurable contribution to enabling Bavarian companies to reduce their energy requirements. The main objective is to transfer expertise from applied research into industry. Among other things, it holds training seminars and supports companies in improving their energy and material efficiency through individual consultancy services.
According to Prof. Steinhilper, in the Green Factory Bayreuth, "activities will include implementing procedures suitable for industry in order to identify energy-saving potential in existing factories, and research into energy-efficient measuring technology in production, increasing energy efficiency in production logistics and energy efficiency upgrading for plants. In addition, the Green Factory Bayreuth will be home to a fully representative production line for carbon fibre reinforced plastic components, which play a central role in modern lightweight design. This will be used as a demonstration and teaching factory for energy and material efficient production."
The Free State of Bavaria is providing three million euros for this project. The Fraunhofer Process Innovation project group will also contribute one million euros of its own budget. "The Green Factory Bayreuth research project will make a significant contribution to improving energy and material efficiency in Bavaria. The facility will thus support the decoupling of economic growth from consumption of resources," notes Hessel.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Steinhilper explains: "Since it was founded in 2006, the Fraunhofer Process Innovation project group has worked closely together with the industry. Over recent years, we have worked for over 100 companies – 70 per cent of them from northern Bavaria – with great success. Today, material and energy costs are the most important cost factor in production for manufacturing companies, at around half of total costs – compared to 18 per cent for staff costs. It has been proven that improvements of up to 30 per cent in the field of energy efficiency and up to five per cent in material efficiency are possible. With the help of the Green Factory Bayreuth, we hope that this enormous potential can be detected and exploited in as many companies as possible."
The Green Factory Bayreuth will be an innovative demonstration, teaching and research platform for energy-efficient production. It is intended to make a measurable contribution to enabling Bavarian companies to reduce their energy requirements. The main objective is to transfer expertise from applied research into industry. Among other things, it holds training seminars and supports companies in improving their energy and material efficiency through individual consultancy services.
According to Prof. Steinhilper, in the Green Factory Bayreuth, "activities will include implementing procedures suitable for industry in order to identify energy-saving potential in existing factories, and research into energy-efficient measuring technology in production, increasing energy efficiency in production logistics and energy efficiency upgrading for plants. In addition, the Green Factory Bayreuth will be home to a fully representative production line for carbon fibre reinforced plastic components, which play a central role in modern lightweight design. This will be used as a demonstration and teaching factory for energy and material efficient production."
The Free State of Bavaria is providing three million euros for this project. The Fraunhofer Process Innovation project group will also contribute one million euros of its own budget. "The Green Factory Bayreuth research project will make a significant contribution to improving energy and material efficiency in Bavaria. The facility will thus support the decoupling of economic growth from consumption of resources," notes Hessel.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Steinhilper explains: "Since it was founded in 2006, the Fraunhofer Process Innovation project group has worked closely together with the industry. Over recent years, we have worked for over 100 companies – 70 per cent of them from northern Bavaria – with great success. Today, material and energy costs are the most important cost factor in production for manufacturing companies, at around half of total costs – compared to 18 per cent for staff costs. It has been proven that improvements of up to 30 per cent in the field of energy efficiency and up to five per cent in material efficiency are possible. With the help of the Green Factory Bayreuth, we hope that this enormous potential can be detected and exploited in as many companies as possible."