The overall target is the development of an integrated process chain for the cost-effective and energy-efficient production of electrically and optically functionalized composite material. The lighting panels will thus be produced for the first time in a continuous process and outperform conventional LED panels in terms of weight and rigidity, while at the same time being less thick and offering greater design freedom. Due to the continuous process and the resulting substitution of complex assembly and logistics processes, cost reductions of over 60 % compared to current LED panels can be achieved.

Exemplary applications are lighting in indoor and outdoor areas such as offices or billboards. The transformation of the panels into curved structures, also envisaged in the project, can also address design-oriented applications in architecture for example at exterior facades and in the transport sector for example ceiling lights in trains and buses.

The AZL is primarily responsible for the continuous production of the base layer made of fiber reinforced plastics on a double belt press developed at the institute, the integration into the overall process and the final investigations on the shaping of the panels to curved geometries.