Departments
The Research Association of Automotive Technology (FAT)
FAT promotes research on passenger and commercial vehicles as well as their parts and accessories.
FAT promotes research on passenger and commercial vehicles as well as their parts and accessories.
Joint research for the mobility of the future
The Research Association of Automotive Technology (FAT) unites all German passenger and commercial vehicle manufactures as well as numerous suppliers and providers of mobility-related products and services under the auspices of the VDA for the purpose of carrying out pre-competitive joint research.
With their projects, the FAT members underpin the German automotive industry's ongoing high-tech aspirations and its quest for new, even better solutions for the environmental friendly, safe and comfortable mobility of the future.
The focus of research and its projects is mobility and energy concepts of tomorrow. For this purpose, innovations are created that form the basis for new and optimized products. Research at the FAT takes place in a community of manufacturers, suppliers and universities or specialist institutes.
The aim is, to jointly answer fundamental questions, which leads to generating the ever-increasing demands, e.g. on materials, environmental compatibility, automation and networking. Working on competition-related and competitive topics is excluded. Demand-oriented and dynamic: research for the products of tomorrow. The FAT's research goals evolve dynamically, with the changing needs of markets and companies. It focuses its work on four research clusters:
- Safe and Integrated Mobility
- Sustainable Mobility
- Materials, Methods, Manufacturing/Processes
- Commercial Vehicles
Experts from FAT member companies meet in subject-specific working groups to identify the most urgent and suitable research topics and to define and implement research projects. Short decision-making processes guarantee that research projects are implemented promptly according to the needs of FAT member companies.
The FAT's research at a glance:
The FAT is a research association with short decision-making processes and efficient implementation of research projects. An especially decisive factor here is the personnel continuity of the research advisory boards and working groups. This continuity guarantees a high level of expertise and repercussiveness.
The FAT continuously cooperates with more than 50 German research institutions. In this way, the FAT also promotes scientifically qualified up-and-coming talents for the automotive industry.
The FAT’s research continuously provides the German automotive industry groundbreaking and up-to-date results. The FAT has four research clusters:
Safe and Integrated Mobility; Sustainable Mobility; Materials, Methods, Manufacturing/Processes; Commercial Vehicles.
The FAT is a research association with short decision-making processes and efficient handling of research projects.
The FAT working groups prepare decision-ready project applications (in terms of content, funding, duration) for deliberation by the Research Advisory Board. The Advisory and Executive Board can decide without administrative obstacles, thus providing clarity for the applicants. Directly after the executive decision has been made, the business office concludes the contracts with the research partners.
The on-going project work of the working groups and the decision-making meetings ensure that projects are initiated expeditiously and tailored to the needs of the members.
On behalf of the FAT, the proposals of the research partners are executed at universities, public research centers or at non-university R&D institutions.
The FAT is a particularly esteemed cooperation partner of German research institutions due to its intensive communication with the working groups and business office as well as the simple administrative procedures.
Objectives and transfer of results of FAT projects are developed in close context with committees of the automotive industry, relevant associations and authorities.
The FAT has established a successful collaboration with cooperation partners in which research projects are jointly defined and financed.
After completion of a project, the results are published. Since its foundation, the FAT has published more than 350 volumes. Information about current projects is provided at conferences, congresses and in professional journals.
Dr. Marcus Bollig
Managing Director
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Claudia Langowsky
Managing Director
Julia Strese
Expert
