From Venus flytraps to foldable aircraft wings Peter Dornier Foundation Prize awarded to researchers from TU Braunschweig and TU Dresden

Long wings with foldable tips can reduce aircraft fuel consumption and make aviation more sustainable. An interdisciplinary research team has now developed a new solution based on the Venus flytrap: freely movable wing tips made of fibre composite materials, which are manufactured using innovative 3D weaving technology. Researchers Patrick Meyer (TU Braunschweig) and Michael Vorhof (TU Dresden) were awarded the Peter Dornier Foundation Prize 2025 in mid-July for this novel combination of textile technology, aviation and bionics.

Longer aircraft wings can increase the efficiency and sustainability of commercial aircraft because they reduce drag and thus lower fuel consumption. The problem is that aircraft with long wings encounter spatial limitations at airports, for example on taxiways or at gates. “That’s why we simply fold up the wing tips,” says Dr Patrick Meyer, who was a research assistant at the Institute of Mechanics and Adaptronics at TU Braunschweig until July and is now a development engineer at Lufthansa Technik. The idea of foldable wing tips is not new: Boeing, for example, is using foldable wings on the ground for its latest model, the 777X. Airbus is also working on movable wing tips. According to Meyer, however, the concept of foldable wing tips has even more potential: “By using pressure-controlled actuators with adjustable mechanical properties, wing tips could become multifunctional control surfaces.” The inspiration for this came from nature.

Carnivorous plants as a model

In principle, the Venus flytrap works like a hydraulic system: when an insect falls into the trap, the plant closes its leaves in a fraction of a second by specifically changing the pressure in the cell walls. These so-called nastic movements form the basis of ‘PACS’ (Pressure-Actuated Cellular Structures) – a technology that is still in its infancy and, according to Meyer, is essentially based on research carried out at TU Braunschweig and the German Aerospace Centre. Meyer explains: “PACS is basically a technical replica of the mechanics of the Venus flytrap and has exactly the properties that robust yet easily movable wing tips need.” To implement the PACS concept for his idea of controllable wing tips, Meyer teamed up with textile researcher Dr. Michael Vorhof from the Institute for Textile Machinery and High Performance Textile Materials at TU Dresden. “Plants consist of fibres – if you want to copy them, you also have to copy their complex, fibre-based structure,” explains Vorhof..

3D weaving as a pioneer for sustainable aviation

To transfer the complex structure and mechanics of the Venus flytrap into a woven and movable wing tip that can be bent by changing the pressure, Vorhof used a weaving machine from the machine and plant manufacturer Lindauer DORNIER, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. “The robust design, composite-compatible construction and high precision of the DORNIER weaving machine provided us with crucial support in implementing the complex fibre structure required for PACS,” says Vorhof. The woven semi-finished products consist of glass fibre and polyamide threads and are melted in a thermal press to form fibre-reinforced plastic components. “This is significantly cheaper than using an autoclave,” says Vorhof. Aeroelastic analyses on a model of a Cessna Citation show that the nature-inspired woven lightweight wing tip can withstand the loads acting on it during flight and can be raised and lowered in seconds.

Recognition of interdisciplinary achievement

In mid-July, the doctoral student duo from aerospace and textile engineering were awarded the 2025 Peter Dornier Foundation Prize, worth 5,000 euros each, for their joint research work as part of two dissertations. At the award ceremony in the Weaving Technology Centre at Lindau-based DORNIER, curators Dr. Bernd Sträter and Dr. Adnan Wahhoud praised the special significance of the work: “These are two outstanding dissertations that use well-known process parameters of modern 3D weaving technology from DORNIER to develop practical applications related to current advances in aircraft construction for more sustainable aviation.”

Peter D. Dornier, son of the founder and member of the advisory board of the Peter Dornier Foundation responsible for the foundation award, emphasised in his speech to the approximately 120 guests: “My father would have been delighted with this interdisciplinary research work, as it builds on two of his own areas of interest: aircraft construction and textile technology.” With his forward-looking ideas, the founder of Lindau-based DORNIER shaped both areas – for example, by developing the positively controlled gripper weaving machine and supplying it to French glass and carbon weavers, who used it to manufacture fibre composite aircraft components at an early stage.

This laid the foundation in the 1970s for the Composite Systems division, which was founded in 2014 and now produces, among other things, 3D weaving machines for the production of 3D carbon fabrics for turbine blades, explained Dornier, long-time managing director and now chairman of the supervisory board of Lindauer DORNIER. He also praised the interdisciplinary cooperation between the two institutes: “In Germany, several departments often conduct parallel research on highly interesting topics – this cooperation is a prime example of how two different institutes can coordinate and successfully collaborate on a forward-looking project,” said Dornier.

The future of foldable wings

The two young researchers were honoured at the award ceremony in Lindau: “It is a great honour for us to receive the Peter Dornier Foundation Prize, because it combines textile innovations with aviation and thus recognises interdisciplinary research such as ours,” said Meyer, who completed research flights in a Dornier Do 128 as part of his studies. To further develop the concept, the award winners’ institutes are planning follow-up projects and the construction of the first prototypes. “If all goes well, our technology could be used in the next generation of aircraft,” the two award winners cautiously estimate.

About the Peter Dornier Foundation Prize

The idea for the Peter Dornier Foundation Prize goes back to Peter Dornier (1917-2002), the founder of Lindauer DORNIER GmbH. The prize has been awarded annually since 2021 for outstanding scientific work by young people in the fields of textile, film and fibre composite technology as well as aerospace. The foundation’s objectives also include the promotion of medical research and support for hospices for a self-determined and dignified life until the end.