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CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Strategic Challenges and International Collaboration

4th JUNE

08:30 – 9:00

Registration & Welcome Coffee

09:00 – 9:30

Conference opening

  1. General Director and Deputy Director, Dr. Damian Gąsiorek (D.Sc.)/Dr. Jarosław Frydel Łukasiewicz – Krakow Institute of Technology (KIT), Poland
  2. Head of the Department for Entrepreneurship & Innovation of the Krakow CityHall – Katarzyna Wysocka, Poland
  3. Rector of Bialystok University of Technology, Dr. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk (D.Sc.), Poland

09:30 – 10:40

Opening Session: “Poland and the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) –Lightweight Materials Initiatives”

Description:

This session highlights Poland’s accession to the European Lightweighting Network (ELN) and its potential as a regional leader in lightweight materials innovation. It introduces the conference’s objectives, focusing on fostering collaboration across BSR countries and addressing Green Deal goals through the development of a European Lightweighting Strategy by the European Commission.

Presentation (7 minutes +  3 minutes for questions):

9:30 – 9:40

Christian Olsson, “Collaborating for Sustainability: Sweden’s Contribution to the Baltic Sea Region’s Lightweight Innovation”, Director of the strategic innovation programme (RISE), Sweden

9:40 – 9:50

Pirjo Pietikainen, Interreg project with Baltic Region, Finnish Plastics Industries Federation, Composite, “Circle – Glass Fiber Composite Recycling for Sustainable Future”, Finland

9:50 – 10:00

Monika Petraitė, Navigating uncertainty with confidence: Competencies for Future Innovators and Entrepreneurs, (Kaunas Technical University, Lithuania)

Panel discussion no.1:

10:00 – 10:30

“Strategic Challenges and International Collaboration“

  1. Walter Mauritsch, Austrian Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure
  2. Werner Loscheider, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Germany
  3. Amaya Igartua, Coordinator of Materials Initiatives, Co-secretary of the European Materials Platform (EUMAT), Tekniker, Spain

10:30 – 11:10

Coffee break

Panel 1

11:10 – 12:10

“European Lightweighting Network – Opportunities and Challenges to Integrate a New Partners In the Network“

Description:

This panel discusses how Poland’s membership in ELN can boost innovation and sustainability in lightweight materials while identifying challenges and opportunities for collaboration within the Baltic Sea Region and the other countries from Europe.

Presentation (7 minutes +  3 minutes for questions):

11:10 – 11:20

Boel Wadman, “Collaboration on lightweighting in the Nordic Countries”, Coordinator of the Swedish Manufacturing R&D Clusters (RISE), Sweden

11:20 – 11:30

Tjark von Reden, “Internationalization – experiences from a member-driven network”, CEO Composites United, Germany

11:30 – 11:40

Andrius Vilkauskas, “Drivers for lightweighting development in engineering industries: Lithuanian case” Vice President at LINPRA, Senior Researcher at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

11:40 – 11:50

Marco Falzetti, “An overview of the Italian activity in lightweighting”, APRE Director, Italy

11:50 – 12:00

Michał Basista, “European Virtual Institute on Knowledge-based Multifunctional Materials: A model for integrating materials R&D in Europe” (KMM-VIN AISBL), Belgium

12:00 – 12:10

Bartłomiej Przybyszewski, “Bridging Science and Industry: LightweightMaterials Development at Warsaw University of Technology”, Warsaw University ofTechnology, Poland

Panel discussion no.2:

12:10 – 12:30

“European Lightweighting Network – Opportunities and Challenges to Integrate a New Partner In The Network“

  1. Artis Kromanis Head of Institute Of Mechanical And Biomedical Engineering, Riga Technical university, Latvia
  2. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, Bialystok University of Technology, Poland
  3. Werner Loscheider, Head of Division IVB4 for construction industry, Germany
  4. Andrius Vilkauskas, Vice President at LINPRA, Senior Researcher at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch

13:30 – 14:30

“Eureka Lightweighting Funding Call 2025: International Webinar & Pitching Event“

Description:

The national funding bodies (NFBs) from Austria, Belgium (Flanders & Wallonia), Chile,
France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Türkiye, and Ukrainehave allocated funding for organisations collaborating on international R&D projects in the field oflightweighting. The “International Webinar & Pitching Event” is a hybrid event which will giveorganizations the opportunity to discuss project ideas and can help building up a consortium. Thefocus of this event is to give organizations and their project ideas the floor to discuss ideas,exchange experiences and to find the right partner for a potential consortium. Therefore, the eventwill mainly consist of project pitches. Additionally, we will briefly present the context of the call andillustrate the submission process

Moderator: Martin Zottler, Projektmanager Automobil‑Cluster Business Upper Austria – OÖ Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH

Panel 2

14:30 – 15:30

“Developing a European Lightweighting Strategy”

Description:

A focus on formulating a unified strategy to foster lightweight materials innovation across different countries, addressing policy gaps, funding needs, and industrial applications.

Presentation (20 minutes + 10 minutes for questions):

14:30 – 14:50

Ursula Eul, “Strategy & Identity” Motivation, Goals and preliminary results

14:50 – 15:00

Eva Schillinger, Secretary General IAM-I, “IAM4EU, the new Horizon Europe partnership for Advanced Materials, Belgium.

15:00- 15:10

Raquel Ledo Bañobre, “The current challenges of Lightweighting: An Spanish perspective”, MATERPLAT, Priorities in lighweighting in Spain.

15:10 – 15:20

Prof. Lars Nyborg, “Towards a European Lightweight Future: National Approaches to Sustainable Aluminium Development through Critical Element Avoidance and Innovative Design”, Chalmers, Sweden

Panel discussion no.3:

15:20 – 15:40

“Benefits and advantages of a European lightweighting strategy“

Moderator: Ursula Eul, Strategic Consulting ICoaching I Moderation, Germany (on behalf of the German Lightweighting Initiative)

  1. Jérôme , Tchuindjang Tchoufack, University Liege, Belgium
  2. Martin Nosko, Slovak Academy of Sciences – LightweightEU project
  3. Thomas Hipke, ELCA European Lightweighting Cluster Alliance
  4. Boel Wadman, Coordinator of the Swedish Manufacturing R&D Clusters (RISE), Sweden

Panel 3

15:40 – 16:40

“Funding Research and Innovation in Lightweight Technology  – Opportunities in Europe“

Description:

This panel highlights funding mechanisms and collaborative opportunities for advancing lightweighting research and innovation in Europe (M.ERA.NET,  IAM4EU).

Presentation:

15:40 – 16:00

Jürgen Tiedje A Representative of European Commission, “Possible integration of the work of the ELN into the advanced materials strategy of the European Union”

16:00 – 16:10

Lena Killander, Program Committee Expert, “Lightweighting and advanced materials in National programs” , Vinnova, Sweden

16:10 – 16:30

Jorge Sotelo ”Lighweighting in M. ERA. NET calls” – Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT)

16:30 – 16:40

Anita Uchańska-Bieniusiewicz, „Materials technologies in the Smart Growth Operational Programme”, The National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR)

Panel 4

16:40 – 17:30

“Economic Impact of Lightweight Technology”

Presentation (20 minutes + 10 minutes for questions):

16:40 – 17:10

Anna Kleissner, “The economic impact of lightweighting, Econmove” GmBH, Austria

Panel discussion no.4:

17:10 – 17:30

“Lightweight materials technology impact on European Economy.“

  1. Andreas Falk (Coordinator of ATIMA (Austrian AdMA-community) and InnoMatSyn (EU-funded project), CEO of BioNanoNet ForschungsGmbH (BNN)), Austria
  2. Christian Olsson, Vice Director of LIGHTer, RISE, Sweden
  3. Werner Loscheider, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Germany

17:30 – 20:00

Leisure Time

20:00 – 24:00

Gala Dinner

Wesele Restaurant, Rynek Główny 10, 31-042 Kraków

Future of Lightweight Materials, Implementations

5th JUNE

9:00 – 9:30

Welcome coffee

Panel 5

9:30 – 10:40

“The Role of Lightweight Technology in the Energy Transition”

Description:

This panel explores how lightweight materials can enhance renewable energy technologies and facilitate the shift to carbon-neutral energy systems.

Presentation (7 minutes +  3 minutes for questions):

9:30 – 9:40

David Dumas, Senior Research engineer & High Performance Composites Leader at Cenaero. “Bridging Performance and Production: Digital Lightweight Design for Renewable Energy Manufacturing” Belgium

9:40 – 9:50

Albert Langkamp, Managing Director of the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre for Lightweight Structures and Materials and Robust Design at the TU Dresden, “Contribution of lightweight engineering to the energy transition”, Germany

9:50 – 10:00

Florian Pixner (Light Metals Competence Center Ranshofen (LKR) of the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT): “Next-generation lightweight hydrogen storage systems driven by additive manufacturing”, Austria

10:00 – 10:10

Saeed Khademzadeh, RISE, “Design and Additive Manufacturing of Metallic Lightweight Structures: Challenges and Opportunities,” Sweden

10:10 – 10:20

Prof. Dariusz Butrymowicz, “Context of ecological working fluids and low grade energy sources utilisation for lightweight technologies”, Bialystok University of Technology, Poland

Panel discussion no.5:

10:20 – 10:40

“The Role of Lightweight Technology in the Energy Transition“

  1. Ricardo del Valle Zermeño, Head of the Advanced Materials Unit, BAX, Spain
  2. David Dumas, Senior Research engineer & High Performance Composites Leader at Cenaero. Belgium
  3. Henryk Kubiczek – Grupa Azoty, Poland
  4. Simon Liebl, Head of Business Development, Holcim, Germany

10:40 – 11:00

Coffee break

Panel 6

11:00 – 12:20

“Innovative Technologies in Lightweight Materials – The Future, Practical Implementations”

Description:

An in-depth discussion of emerging technologies such as bio-based composites, material circularity, and 3D printing, showcasing their potential to revolutionize industries.

Presentation (7 minutes +  3 minutes for questions):

11:00 – 11:10

Michal Borza, “Smartification of LW materials”, RVmagnetics, CEO and vice-chairman of BoD in RVmagnetics, Slovakia

11:10 – 11:20

Adrian Kukofka,  “Optimizing LPBF Parameters and Design for Lightweight, Cost-Effective, High-Performance Metal Components”, Director 3D, Progresja S.A., Poland

11:20 – 11:30

Stefanie Brickwede, “The technology to make mobility, medicine and much more lightweight: Additive manufacturing”, Managing Director, Mobility goes Additive e.V., Germany

11:30 – 11:40

Marta Álvarez, “Multi-material additive manufacturing for lightweight and thermal management”, Technological Center  CETEMET, U Project MULTHEM, Spain

11:40 – 11:50

Andres Puerto, Thermoplastic “Composites: Sustainable Lightweight Solutions for Next-Generation Aerospace”, Villafranca R&D Composites Engineer at FIDAMC (Airbus Group), Spain

11:50 – 12:00

Sylwestr Samborski, “Damage Identification in Elastically Coupled FRP Composites”, Polytechnique of Lublin, Poland

12:00 – 12:10

Jérôme , Tchuindjang Tchoufack, “New challenges in Additive Manufacturing : from alloying design to application”, University Liege, Belgium

12:10 – 12:20

Stefan Pusterhofer, “Innovative technologies in Pole Position”, Pankl Racing Systems AG

12:20 – 12:30

Announcement of The Next ELN Meeting/End of ELN Meeting Krakow

12:30 – 14:00

Lunch

World Café “Strategic Development of the ELN”

14:00 – 16:00

Workshop organized by Walter Mauritsch and Martin Zottler.  The format and the content of the workshop still needs to be discussed; all partners shall be included