Materials for Innovative Drives - Regional Forum Saar 2025

The 13th Saarland Regional Forum, held for the first time in the new Innovation Center at Saarland University on 21 January 2025, provided an informative forum for the exchange of ideas on current and future materials challenges in innovative propulsion systems with a focus on hydrogen. The event was organized by Saarland University, the German Society for Materials Science (DGM) and Triathlon. The event attracted more than 130 experts in materials science and engineering as well as interested members of the public to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the field of materials and hydrogen.

Dr.-Ing. Florian Schäfer, who heads the working group "Hydrogen Effects in Materials and Cross-Scale Materials Testing" at the Chair of Experimental Methods in Materials Science, opened the lecture series. In his talk "Hydrogen - a highly topical challenge for metallic materials" he introduced the topic of hydrogen embrittlement in metallic materials. He highlighted the material-specific challenges associated with the interaction with hydrogen and the experimental test methods for the corresponding properties.

Udo Engelmann, technical project manager at HYDAC New Technologies GmbH, then turned his attention to industrial implementation in the context of energy transition. His presentation, entitled "Technologies for the sustainable reduction of CO2 emissions for on- and off-road applications", dealt with the challenges and opportunities associated with the implementation of battery-electric and hydrogen-powered solutions in on- and off-road applications.

The poster contributions by Björn-Ivo Bachmann (Chair of Functional Materials), Jutta Luksch (Chair of Experimental Methodology in Materials Science) and Sascha Power (Chair of Cognitive Sensor Systems) demonstrated the commitment and research quality of the young scientists.

The forum concluded with a networking event that gave participants the opportunity to exchange ideas and engage in discussions. The next edition of the Saar Regional Forum is planned for January 2026, continuing the dialogue between academia and industry on relevant materials topics.

Sponsors of the event:

  • Evident Europe GmbH

  • SPECTRO Analytical Instruments GmbH

  • Struers GmbH

  • Iqony Energies GmbH

  • Universitätsgesellschaft des Saarlandes

  • VDI-Saar

  • Saarländische Wasserstoffagentur GmbH

Sign up for our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates about materials science topics!

After subscribing, you will receive an email from us with a confirmation link.
Only after clicking this link your registration is completed.

Connect with us