Foundation stone laid for research hall of the Chemnitz Cluster of Excellence MERGE
The foundation stone for the new research hall of the Cluster of Excellence "Technology Fusion for Multifunctional Lightweight Structures" (MERGE) was laid today behind the lecture theatre building on Chemnitz University of Technology's Reichenhainer Straße campus. The ceremony was attended by the Rector of Chemnitz University of Technology, Arnold van Zyl, the Head of the Cluster of Excellence, Prof Lothar Kroll, and the Mayor of Chemnitz, Barbara Ludwig.
"The true foundation stone of this research hall was laid many years ago: through continued outstanding research achievements at Chemnitz University of Technology. Lightweight construction and MERGE are representative of a large number of research areas at the TU that can hold their own in international competition. I am firmly convinced that every euro invested in this cluster of excellence and in this university is money well spent. The new research hall gives MERGE a face and also visibly conveys the claim of a long-term and ambitious research programme," says Barbara Ludwig.
The new research hall is approximately 3,500 square metres in size and will cost around 12.6 million euros. It is the first of three steps to lay the infrastructural foundations for the Cluster of Excellence. A laboratory building and an office building will be added between 2015 and 2018.
MERGE was established as part of the 2012 Federal Excellence Initiative and focuses on technology fusion in lightweight construction with the aim of merging separate manufacturing processes in the processing of different material groups such as textiles, plastics and metals. This should enable multi-component parts to be produced more cost-effectively and energy-efficiently.
The Cluster of Excellence is being funded with 34 million euros until 2017.