FOX COMPOSITES is a spin-off project from the German Aerospace Centers (DLR) Institute of Materials Research. The project was initiated by DLR scientists Michael Welter and Vito Leisner in 2023 and is funded by the Helmholtz Enterprise Spin-off programme until January 2025. Our spin-off activity is also supported by a DLR technology transfer grant (2024 – 2026) to further advance the technology readiness level.

Almost all industry sectors are facing the same challenges - how to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions. Materials will play a key role in solving these problems. Specifically, there is a growing demand for new materials, particularly lightweight, high temperature materials beyond polymer composites and metals. Ceramic materials have superior high temperature properties but their inherent brittleness disqualifies them for most technical applications. Fibre reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMC) can overcome this issue and have been the focus of advanced materials research for over 30 years. However, one of the main limiting factors so far is the lack of robust and scalable fabrication technologies. Yet, reproducible and automatable production technologies are a fundamental requirement for any large-scale commercial application. That’s why we developed our slurry infusion technologies VASI and IFOX^®.

We strongly believe in the future of CMC materials as a key enabling technology for more energy efficient high temperature applications and processes. With over 20 years of combined experience in ceramic research and CMC material and process development, our ambition is to take CMC materials from research labs and niche markets to broader large-scale application.