The German Aerospace Center (DLR, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) is Germany’s national research center for aeronautics and space and serves as the country’s space agency. Funded largely by the federal government, DLR conducts applied research and technology development across aeronautics, space, energy, transport, security, and digitalization, and operates a network of institutes and large-scale test facilities.
For the chemical and energy sectors, DLR’s work focuses on energy technologies and advanced fuels, including hydrogen production and storage, fuel cells, combustion science, emissions reduction, and synthetic fuels such as power-to-liquid (PtL) aviation fuels. The organization also conducts research in materials and process engineering (e.g., high-temperature materials, lightweight composites, thermal management) relevant to industrial applications and decarbonization.
DLR collaborates with industry, academia, and public bodies to move technologies from laboratory scale to pilot and demonstration plants, and provides techno-economic and life-cycle assessments to support industrial scaling and policy development. Its activities aim to improve the efficiency, safety, and environmental performance of energy and mobility systems with direct relevance to the chemical value chain.