TU Delft and TU Braunschweig strengthen European research partnership for sustainable aviation Expansion to multimodal mobility under discussion

On 25 April 2025, Niedersachsen’s Minister of Science Falko Mohrs visited the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft. During the visit, Dean Henri Werij and Professor Peter Hecker, Vice President for Research at TU Braunschweig, signed an agreement to renew and strengthen the partnership. The two universities will continue to join forces on major innovation programmes and collaborate on research focused on sustainable aviation. In particular, they agreed to explore opportunities for expansion into the field of sustainable and multimodal transport.

Prof. Peter Hecker (Vice President for Research at TU Braunschweig, front left), Niedersachsen’s Minister of Science Falko Mohrs and Professor Henri Werij, Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft. Photo credit: TU Delft

On 7 February 2020, TU Delft and TU Braunschweig established a research partnership in the field of aerospace engineering, which was confirmed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and is valid for ten years. Since then, the collaboration has flourished, especially with regard to joint projects in the field of sustainable aviation. This collaboration has not only increased international visibility, but has also brought strategic benefits to both institutions.

The partners – in particular the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft and the Mobility Research Centre at TU Braunschweig – emphasize their intention to continue and further strengthen this successful partnership, notably in the context of future programmes such as “Sustainable and Energy Efficient Aviation” and “Luchtvaart in Transitie”.

In addition, they see potential for expanding the cooperation framework beyond aerospace to include transport and multimodal mobility. To this end, a joint working group will be set up to develop an action and implementation plan within the next twelve months.

The Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft in the Netherlands is considered to be the largest faculty of its kind in Europe. At TU Braunschweig’s Mobility Research Focus Area, scientists are working on innovative technologies for sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility on rail, road and in the air. Topics include intelligent vehicles and connected driving, charging infrastructure, mobility management and digitalisation. Aviation research focuses on reducing emissions and noise pollution, the recyclability of air transport systems and the further development of air traffic management. Both TU Delft and TU Braunschweig conduct excellent mobility research.