The Federal Government’s Lightweighting Strategy barrier-free

2023: The Federal Government’s Lightweighting Strategy, under the lead responsibility of the Economic Affairs and Climate Action Ministry, seeks to strengthen lightweighting across ministries

The Federal Government’s Lightweighting Strategy is based on the lightweighting strategy of the then Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy from January 2021, and places this on an even broader base. It was provided for in the coalition agreement and the Climate Action Status Review. Under the lead responsibility of the Economic Affairs and Climate Action Ministry, the Economic Affairs and Climate Action Ministry and seven other ministries (Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Federal Ministry of Education and Research and Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building) collaborated on the strategy. Also, the lightweighting community and the public were involved.

Lightweighting, as a cross-cutting technology that embraces different sectors and materials, particularly benefits from an interdisciplinary approach and from an exchange of knowledge among the stakeholders. As the Federal Government has already been providing support for lightweighting very successfully across various areas, there is a sound basis on which to build. The Strategy is to strategically pool ongoing activities by the various ministries, and enhance them in a targeted manner. It also includes new measures, for example for expanding ecological and economic measurability and for user-oriented communication of the benefits of lightweighting.

The Strategy takes a holistic approach that covers different industries and materials and addresses all three dimensions of sustainability, namely ecology, economy and society. The implementation of the Federal Government’s Lightweighting Strategy is intended to make a key contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of primary raw materials. Also, dependencies on imported energy and raw materials are to be cut. The close link between a sparing use of resources with the circular economy concept leverages further potential. Also, the ongoing development of highly innovative lightweighting technologies has a positive impact on the innovative capacities of the economy. By developing new solutions for reducing weight and materials use and for improving the functioning of components, lightweighting is constantly delivering new innovations. Materials can encourage a great deal of innovation as they are used in so many sectors. Finally, lightweighting improves people’s day-to-day lives, e.g. in terms of housing, mobility, health and leisure. For example, new lightweight design concepts for buildings provide possibilities for infill development by extending existing buildings upwards in densely populated urban areas and thus address the urgent need to create housing.

The implementation of the Lightweighting Strategy is to be discussed with all the relevant ministries once during each legislative term.