Promoting research: the Federal Government’s aviation research programme

Since 1995, the Federal Government has promoted the research and technology development in the "LuFo" aviation research programme. The main focus of the current, fifth, edition of the programme includes strengthening the sector as a lead market for Industrie 4.0, and developing new digital products.

Facilitating financing: the Aircraft Equipment Programme

In order to strengthen the equipment and component supplier industry in the aviation sector and to safeguard its technological edge, the Economic Affairs Ministry provides loans to help fund development projects. This limits the development risks and delivers greater financial security. Learn more (in German).

Strengthening international cooperation and networking

Innovation is not a one-way street. Aerospace technologies find their way into other sectors – and vice versa. With programmes like “Future Lab: Aviation Technology Transfer” and the Aerospace StartUp Night, the Economic Affairs Ministry promotes cross-sectoral technological networking. The aim is to highlight and leverage potential for innovation and synergies.

The Economic Affairs Ministry is actively involved in shaping the international environment for research, development and exports in the aerospace sector, working on this in national, European and international bodies. Also, the Economic Affairs Ministry backs the interests of Germany’s aviation industry in European research framework programmes like Clean Sky, SESAR, Horizon 2020.

Promoting the German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Institutional funding of more than €200 million goes towards the research work of the DLR each year.

Supporting German space flight projects

Via Germany's membership of ESA (the European Space Agency) and the National Programme for Space and Innovation, the Economic Affairs Ministry provides around a billion euros of funding each year.

The turnover of the German aerospace industry as a whole amounted to €40 billion in 2018, thus maintaining the high turnover level of 2017. The total number of persons directly employed in the aerospace sector rose from 109,500 in 2017 to 111,500 in 2018 – a new record level.

Civil aviation continues to be the largest segment of the national aerospace industry. A global rise in order and delivery figures resulted in an increase of production and productivity. In 2018, turnover amounted to €29.2 billion, just as in 2017. This corresponds to 73% of the turnover of the whole sector. In 2018, slightly more than 78,500 people worked in this segment, around 2,000 more than in 2017.

In 2018, the situation in the military aviation segment in terms of turnover and employees was comparable to 2017: the turnover amounted to about €7.7 billion in 2018 (compared with €7.8 billion in 2017). 23,700 men and women worked in this segment in 2018, compared with 24,000 in 2017.

As regards space flight, the turnover and the number of employees also corresponded to 2017 figures. In 2018, the turnover totalled €2.9 billion (in 2017: 3 billion). The number of employees rose slightly by 300 to 9,300 in 2018.

Spending on research and development by the aerospace sector as a whole remains at a very high level. In 2018, it amounted to nearly €4 billion. This corresponds to 10% of the sector’s turnover.

In 2018, exports accounted for 76% of the total turnover in the sector.

The outlook for growth and jobs in the sector remains healthy, particularly in the medium and long term; reliable government assistance instruments provide the sector with a sound basis for its planning. Growth in the sector is mainly driven by an ever greater need for mobility worldwide and the necessity to replace old aircraft with the latest generation of new aircraft that are considerably lower in noise emissions and fuel consumption. However, risks that are not easy to calculate, including global trade conflicts and Brexit, might impact on the sector.

The German component supplier industry is playing its part in the ramp-up of the civil aviation programmes. The sector, which is dominated by SMEs, is continuing to win contracts to take part in programmes of aircraft manufacturers both inside and outside Europe.

Find out more about the aerospace industry in our focus on the sector (in German).

Employing more than 8,000 people, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) researches the Earth and the solar system, and provides expertise to help preserve the environment. Its portfolio ranges from basic research to the development of tomorrow’s products. It runs large-scale research facilities, both for its own projects and as a service provider for business partners. It also trains up young scientists, provides advice to policy makers, and is a driving force in the regions surrounding its 20 branches currently located around Germany.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the DLR presented the Strategy 2030 (in German) on 24 July 2017. It aims to enhance the DLR’s core skills and to make even more targeted use of internal potential for synergies in order to build further on its leading position in research to the benefit of society and commerce. The strategic goals in research, ten new horizontal projects and the new horizontal field of digitisation reflect these ambitions.

The coming years will see seven more DLR institutes in six of Germany’s Länder. The Federal Government is providing €42 million towards this each year. Thematic priorities include the digitisation of aviation research, connected energy systems, protection for critical maritime infrastructure, and big data and smart data in space flight.

The DLR plays a two-fold role in implementing Germany’s space policy: Firstly, it is responsible for the planning and implementation of German space activities at national and European level. Secondly, its work as a research facility and a member of the Helmholtz Association ranges from basic research through to the development of innovative applications and tomorrow’s products – including in aerospace.