It is our great pleasure to invite you to the 23rd European Conference on Composite Materials (ECCM23), taking place in Dresden, Germany, in 2028.

We thank the European Society for Composite Materials for their trust in bringing the ECCM to Dresden – and for the close cooperation that makes it possible. The timing could hardly be more fitting: in 2028, TUD | Dresden University of Technology, a German University of Excellence, marks the 200th anniversary of its founding, and we are proud to host ECCM23 as part of this anniversary year. It will be a celebration of two hundred years of science – and a contribution to the next. The ECCM in Dresden will build on the momentum of recent editions and carry forward the themes shaping our field: function integration, bio-based composites, digital twins, and sustainability across the full life cycle. And it will remain what the ECCM has always been – the European meeting point where established experts and newcomers exchange ideas and form lasting collaborations.

Dresden is one of Europe’s true hotspots of fibre-composite research, and its tradition in lightweight engineering runs deep. Building on Saxony’s pioneering aviation industry, TUD founded a dedicated Faculty of Lightweight Engineering as early as 1954 – the foundation on which the Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology (ILK) was later built. Today, more than 250 researchers at the ILK cover the full chain from material and design through simulation to process, testing and quality assurance – an approach we have steadily advanced towards sustainability and continuous simulation chains spanning material, structure, process, use and end of life.

The institute is anchored in TUD, a German University of Excellence that ranks among the country’s leading universities for patents and spin-offs, and through the DRESDEN-concept alliance it connects with more than 40 partner institutions – among them Fraunhofer Society, Leibniz Association, Max Planck Society and Helmholtz Association – and with Silicon Saxony, Europe’s largest microelectronics cluster, right on our doorstep. For a discipline defined by the convergence of materials, manufacturing and digital methods, few places offer comparable conditions.

Beyond the science, Dresden is a vibrant city of culture and history – an ideal setting to combine the conference with a few days of leisure, whether on your own or with accompanying partners.

In the coming months, we will share programme updates, key dates and announcements step by step. To stay up to date, we warmly invite you to subscribe to our newsletter and to connect with us on social media – so you won’t miss any news on the road to ECCM23.

We look forward to welcoming you to Dresden in 2028.

Best regards,
Maik Gude