ARENA2036, in Stuttgart, Germany, is a flexible research factory promoting the hardware-based knowledge production needed to design the vehicles of the future. By bringing together partners from both science and industry, the project is developing a range of disruptive technologies.
ARENA2036: The German flexible factory for the car of the future
- 08 January 2020
ARENA2036 is a lighthouse project for the University of Stuttgart, the region of Stuttgart, and the state of Baden-Württemberg. It combines excellent fundamental research on production, digitalisation, and lightweight design with new ways of facilitating collaboration between industry and academia and speeding up technology transfer. We are very proud of our partner setup and involvement and see Arena as a blueprint for similar research initiatives in other disciplines and domains.
ARENA2036 is an ambitious research programme with a long-term horizon. Anticipating the year 2036, the 150th anniversary of the invention of the automobile, the project aims to become the pacemaker for sustainable automotive engineering for the next generation of cars and mobility in general.
The ARENA2036 research campus for lightweight construction and production technologies brings together industry, science, and academia. The building is on the University of Stuttgart’s campus and offers flexible lab space, an open office area, and a unique maker space. With a focus on the automotive sector, this state-of-the-art research factory aims to facilitate collaboration and the technology transfer needed to shorten the time it takes to get from an idea to a marketable product.
An entire value chain under one roof
The facility is currently hosting 35 different programmes, including Startup Autobahn, Europe’s largest open innovation platform on mobility. Having the first 5G indoor navigation platform, Arena 2036 has received considerable international attention, with companies from outside Europe signing on as partners.
New proposals and products
Built in two years and officially opened in 2013, the facility has focused its research on four distinct yet connected areas:
Lightweight design through functional integration;Digital prototyping of new materials and processes;A research factory focused on the production of the future; andResearch on new ways to collaborate and the implications that Industry 4.0 will have on society.Based on these joint initiatives, new proposals and products are continuously being developed – all of which are geared towards paving the way for the mobility of tomorrow. For example, one project is working on a prototype of a lightweight, energy-efficient chassis using hub motor technology. A hub motor uses ‘direct drive’ and has no gearbox. Another project is working on creating better composite structures to make vehicles lighter.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Neubau einer Forschungsfabrik für den Forschungscampus ARENA2036 (ARENA2036)” is EUR 30 000 000, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 15 000 000 through the “Baden-Württemberg” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Research and innovation”.