January 27, 2026

Honoured recognition at the Seifriz Prize 2026 for the "SuMatHrA" project

Great recognition for our innovation work: our joint project "SuMatHrA - Substitution of conventional materials for lightweight construction with wood hybrids with Albasia" was honoured by the jury with a commendation as part of the Seifriz Prize 2026.

Seifritz-Preis
Credit:
Verein Technologietransfer Handwerk e.V.

From a total of 19 submissions, the Seifriz jury deliberately emphasised two projects in addition to the four main prize winners. The award recognises the high level of innovation and exemplary cooperation between the skilled trades and science.

The laudatory recognition includes, among other things, the nationwide mention of the project, the project partners and the craft business in renowned trade media such as handwerk magazin and Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung. In addition, the project will be presented on the Seifriz Prize website and in other public relations work for the competition. This is associated with a high level of visibility at national level.

Project partners include Alfred Kiess GmbH (Tilo Kiess), Stuttgart, and Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR, Dr.-Ing. Thomas Feser), Stuttgart.

SuMatHrA - Substitution of conventional materials for lightweight construction with wood hybrids based on Albasia - application example lift capsule
Image: 1/2, Credit:
Alfred Kiess GmbH

Sustainable lightweight construction with wood hybrid materials

The SuMatHrA project investigated how conventional lightweight construction materials such as aluminium or steel can be replaced by wood hybrid materials based on the lightweight wood Albasia (Sengon wood). The aim is to significantly improve the carbon footprint of components as early as the manufacturing stage and at the same time reduce energy consumption and emissions during the utilisation phase thanks to lower weight.

Funded by the Lightweight Construction Technology Transfer Programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, three fields of application were considered:

A crash-loaded vehicle structure of an electric vehicle,
a box body of a commercial vehicle,
and a lift cabin.

In all three areas, it was demonstrated that the Albasia hybrid materials fulfil the technical requirements and at the same time enable a significant reduction in weight and a significantly improved carbon footprint.

More performance through less weight

The example of the lift car at Alfred Kiess GmbH demonstrates the potential of the new material particularly clearly: the use of steel and aluminium sheets could be greatly reduced. Thanks to the lower overall weight, it will even be possible to transport an additional person per journey in future - a clear functional added value.

The close cooperation with the DLR enabled comprehensive material science studies to be carried out, including on joining elements, standard and fire protection requirements, mechanical properties and the development of moulded wood parts. It was only thanks to this scientific support that the technical challenges could be successfully solved within the project duration.

The SuMatHrA project is part of the Wood in Vehicle Structures Competence Centre. The institute is investigating further possible applications for wood hybrid materials in the vehicle sector. SuMatHrA (acronym for substitution of conventional materials for lightweight construction with wood hybrids based on albasia wood) was funded over a period of three years by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK), with the Jülich Research Centre as the project sponsor. Together with four partners from industry and science as well as a non-profit organisation, we are working on the development of innovative wood-hybrid material systems for lightweight construction. A central focus is on the substitution of CO₂-intensive materials in vehicle and lift construction. Through the comprehensive characterisation of hybrid material systems and the development of numerical simulation models, we are creating the basis for transferring these sustainable materials to electromobility applications in the future.