Project Details
Projekt
EXC 3115: CARE: Climate-Neutral And Resource-Efficient Construction
Subject Area
Construction Engineering and Architecture
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 533767731
The construction sector consumes vast amounts of energy and resources, and is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It also suffers from low productivity and strenuous working conditions, while facing labor shortages and having a severe impact on the environment in terms of waste, noise, and other emissions. To mitigate global warming while still providing people with affordable homes and infrastructure that are resilient to the consequences of climate change, the construction industry requires a disruptive transformation. The proposed EXC CARE aims to contribute to this transformation by achieving groundbreaking advances in key areas of construction, including Building Materials, Design Principles, and Manufacturing Technologies, and synergistically merging these advances to create game-changing paradigms. Digital Methodologies and Sustainability Frameworks, two cross-sectional research areas, will ensure interoperability and provide guidelines for deployability on a global scale. Replacing traditional concrete, responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions, with net-zero carbon alternatives is essential for transforming the construction industry. CARE will create innovative, mineral-based Building Materials, derived from carbon dioxide and waste, using synthesis powered by renewable energy. These materials will be used in combination with new Design Principles to manufacture resource-minimized structures, reusable modules for circular construction, and to extend the service life of existing structures. Pioneering Manufacturing Technologies such as additive manufacturing and automated assembly and disassembly will provide great precision and flexibility, while dramatically increasing productivity and reducing physical stress on workers' health. Digital Methodologies will enable data-driven design of materials, structural components, and manufacturing processes, leading to a fundamental digital transformation of the entire value chain. Sustainability Frameworks will predict and monitor the effectiveness of the solutions explored, and drive their improvement with respect to the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability. Cluster achievements will be demonstrated by physical prototypes that showcase the transformative CARE paradigms, highlighting their benefits for society – such as global wellbeing, quality of life, and health – and enhancing knowledge transfer. We will closely collaborate with industrial partners from the beginning, ensuring the practicability of the solutions explored, and their rapid implementation in construction practices. CARE’s holistic approach builds upon extensive preliminary work at TUD and RWTH and their cooperating partners. TUD and RWTH are world leaders in exploring new approaches to enhance the sustainability and resilience of mineral building materials and structures, providing an ideal foundation to pursue CARE’s aims.
DFG Programme
Clusters of Excellence (ExStra)
Applicant Institution
Technische Universität Dresden
Co-Applicant Institution
Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
Participating Institution
Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES); Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. (IPF)
Participating Researchers
Professor Dr. Björn Andres; Professor Dr.-Ing. Jörg Blankenbach; Professorin Dr. Sigrid Brell-Cokcan; Professor Dr.-Ing. Roberto Calandra; Professor Dr.-Ing. Chokri Cherif; Professor Dr. Gianaurelio Cuniberti; Professor Dr. Michael Gelinsky; Professorin Dr. Edeltraud Günther; Professor Dr.-Ing. Steffen Ihlenfeldt; Professor Dr. Stefan Kaskel; Professor Dr. Jürgen Klankermayer; Professor Dr.-Ing. Sven Klinkel; Professor Dr. Leif Kobbelt; Professor Dr.-Ing. Marco Liebscher; Professor Dr.-Ing. Stefan Löhnert; Professor Dr.-Ing. Steffen Marx; Professor Dr.-Ing. Thomas Matschei; Professorin Dr.-Ing. Christina Scheffler; Professorin Dr. Sabine Janina Schlittmeier; Professorin Dr.-Ing. Anke Schmeink; Professorin Dr.-Ing. Marzia Traverso; Professorin Dr.-Ing. Anya Vollpracht; Professorin Dr. Inez Weidinger
