On January 28 and 29, 2025, VAUDE in Tettnang became the meeting place for innovations in the sports industry. The CU Innovation Day “Composites/Materials in Sports Industry”, organized by the newly founded CU working group of the same name in cooperation with the CU clusters CU Switzerland, MAI Carbon and CU BW, brought together more than 100 experts from industry, research and practice. The focus was on new developments and sustainable solutions for the future of the industry.
Sustainability as a central theme
The motto “Performance, sustainability and local production” showed how modern materials and technologies can help to make the sports industry more environmentally friendly and efficient. Every step was considered – from material procurement to recycling.
VAUDE Managing Director Dr. Antje von Dewitz opened the event with her keynote speech “How can revenue be decoupled from emissions?”. She outlined how companies can use climate change as an opportunity to create both ecological and economic added value.
Exciting insights into practice
A total of four keynote speeches and 30 short presentations offered participants at the event the opportunity to gain practical insights into the entire range of innovative materials and technologies. Some of the highlights:
- “Healable composites – a revolution for sports equipment” by Dr. Amaël Cohades (CompPair Technologies), who showed how self-healing composites can extend the service life of sports equipment.
- “Play Naturally Smart – with natural fibers” by Patrick Vuagnat (Bcomp), who demonstrated how textiles made from natural fibers not only protect the environment but also offer outstanding performance.
- “Sustainable lightweight design trends in the sports industry” by Dr. Stefan Mohr (HEAD SPORT GmbH), who explained how long-fibre reinforced plastics can contribute to reducing the ecological footprint of sporting goods production.
- “Journey towards sustainable-based carbon fiber composites” by Gisbert Henke (Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH), who presented how recycled carbon fibers can set new standards in terms of sustainability in the sports industry.
- “Maximum Efficiency in High-Tech Sports Equipment Maufacturing with AI-Driven Process Control” by Alexander Scherer (Symate GmbH), who showed how AI-supported process control can optimize the production of high-tech sports equipment.
Interdisciplinary exchange and networking
A central element of the event was the exchange between the participants, who engaged in intensive discussions and made valuable contacts in various panels and Q&A sessions. The participants particularly appreciated the interdisciplinary structure of the event, which combined specialist knowledge from materials science, engineering, sports technology and sustainability research. “CU Innovation Day was a huge success – not only in terms of the expert talks, but also in terms of networking within our network. I am very pleased that the newly established working group on sports is developing such strong momentum and bringing together various experts. The positive response confirms that we have taken exactly the right approach with this series of events,” says Theo Sandu, Managing Director of CU Switzerland, summarizing his impressions.
Continuation of the format already being planned
The CU Innovation Day was a complete success and impressively demonstrated how sustainable innovations and close collaboration can have a positive impact on the sports industry, both ecologically and economically. Due to the great interest, another event is already being planned for September 2025. VAUDE proved to be an excellent host and underlined its role as a pioneer for sustainable innovations.
