Federal President Steinmeier Visits RWTH Aachen Campus
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, accompanied by his wife Elke Büdenbender, came to North Rhine-Westphalia on March 12, 2018 for his official inaugural visit. Alongside NRW Minister President Armin Laschet and his wife Susanne Laschet, as well as RWTH Rector Ernst Schmachtenberg and Professor Günther Schuh, Managing Director of WZL, they visited the RWTH Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering and the electric car developer e.GO Mobile AG in the Production Engineering Cluster on RWTH Aachen Campus.
“The University of Excellence RWTH Aachen with its Campus project is an impressive example of how close collaboration between science and industry can generate real innovation. With success stories like the StreetScooter and the e.GO Life, North Rhine-Westphalia has the potential to drive progress in e-mobility. RWTH is a pioneer in this field, opening up new avenues of development in the transition to sustainable transportation. Innovation comes from North Rhine-Westphalia too and not just California,” said Minister President Armin Laschet.
The Production Engineering Cluster on RWTH Aachen Campus is one of the largest research laboratories for production engineering and Industrie 4.0 in Europe. For more than a century, the RWTH Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering, WZL, which initiated this cluster, has enjoyed a global reputation for its pioneering research and highly successful innovations in the field of production engineering.
During their visit to WZL, the guests got an insight into the Chair of Production Metrology and Quality Management – one of the four WZL departments– led by WZL director Professor Robert Schmitt. The institute is also involved in the development of the e.GO Life electric car.
Next, Professor Günther Schuh, CEO of e.GO Mobile AG, presented the e.GO Life electric car to the guests. The production researcher explained how e.GO Mobile AG uses the network of science and industry on RWTH Aachen Campus to enable particularly cost-efficient prototype and small series production with the help of Industrie 4.0 technology.
Series production of the e.GO Life will begin mid-2018 at a new factory in Aachen Rothe-Erde. The State of North Rhine-Westphalia supports the construction of e.GO Mobile AG’s production site through its Regional Economic Development Program.
RWTH Aachen is preeminent among the many universities and scientific institutions of North Rhine-Westphalia, thanks, among other things, to its important contribution to electric mobility. Researchers here are doing what conventional car manufacturers claimed was impossible: building electric cars at a reasonable price. I am very excited to hear what happens here in the future.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier