Lightweight EU

Lightweight policy with a European drive

With the Lightweight EU project, Europe is placing lightweight policy at the forefront. The goal: to more firmly anchor lightweight construction as a key technology for a sustainable and competitive industry across regional and national frameworks. After all: building lighter saves energy, reduces emissions, and strengthens the economic base.

Lightweight construction can achieve a lot. It promotes the Green Deal, modernizes industry, creates jobs, and makes regions more resilient—both ecologically and economically. Lightweight design lowers energy use and CO₂ emissions. Yet, while countries like Austria, Germany, and Sweden are advancing lightweight strategies, other parts of Europe still lack political frameworks. Particularly in Eastern Europe, it remains underdeveloped.

Harmonizing political strategies

Lightweight EU aims to change that. The project brings together both experienced and emerging regions, fostering a sharing of best practices and promoting greater coherence in European lightweight policy. This approach is not only technological—it embodies a European strategy that includes all regions and demonstrates how policy action can drive innovation and sustainability simultaneously.

Sharing best practices will boost environmental protection, industrial modernization, economic growth, competitiveness, and job creation.

Objectives and benefits

The Lightweight EU project will anchor lightweight construction in regional and national agendas so that regions can seize all the opportunities this technology offers:

  • Positive impacts for both environment and economy in the regions
  • Support for implementing EU policies at the regional level—especially the Green Deal, Green Deal Industrial Plan, and Critical Raw Materials Act
  • Harmonization of regional and national strategies, strengthening the EU’s position in the global lightweight ecosystem

Consortium
The partners of Lightweight EU consist of leading and emerging organizations in lightweight policy development across Europe. Public institutions, innovation agencies, location agencies, and research institutes ensure a holistic, high-level approach to policy improvement and promote the spread of innovative policies within and beyond the EU.

A Discovery Partner from Ukraine expands the project’s scope beyond EU borders and aids Ukraine’s economic recovery.

  • Lead Partner: Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia)
  • Business Upper Austria – OÖ Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH (Austria)
  • RKW Saxony Productivity and Innovation Centre (Germany)
  • Catalan Agency for Business Competitiveness – ACCIÓ (Spain)
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology – NTNU (Norway)
  • Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
  • Ukrainian Cluster Alliance (Ukraine – Discovery Partner)

Lightweight EU – Strengthening EU lightweight policies for a unified European approach

  • Programme: Interreg Europe
  • Policy Objective: Smarter Europe
  • Duration: May 2025 to July 2029
  • Budget: approx. €1.4 million
  • EU contribution: approx. €1 million

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