The Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE in Kaiserslautern is embarking on the next milestone in its development this year: On August 29, 2025, the official groundbreaking ceremony for the institute's expansion took place. Scheduled for completion at the end of 2027, the new building will be a modern, energy-efficient complex that meets the growing demands of research and innovation. In their welcoming speeches, Rhineland-Palatinate's Minister of Science Clemens Hoch and Kaiserslautern's Mayor Beate Kimmel emphasized that this growth at IESE in Kaiserslautern will also strengthen the national and international visibility of research achievements in Rhineland-Palatinate. In his speech, Fraunhofer President Prof. Holger Hanselka emphasized that the extension building sends an important signal for the future, as the growing importance of sustainable and secure software and systems is a decisive factor for technological independence.

Fraunhofer IESE was founded in 1996 and has been growing ever since. In 2004, the foundation stone for the Fraunhofer Center on Trippstadter Straße was laid. A year later, Fraunhofer IESE moved from Siegelbach, a district of Kaiserslautern, to its current location. Now the Fraunhofer Institute, which focuses on software and systems engineering, needs more space – both for laboratories and for flexible, collaborative working environments.

The new extension will increase the institute's usable floor space from the current 5,165 m² to 7,043 m². “This will enable us to create even better conditions for innovative research projects and creative forms of work that promote exchange and collaboration within the teams,” says Prof. Peter Liggesmeyer, Director of Fraunhofer IESE.

“From health and mobility to production and smart farming: With its research in the field of software and systems engineering, Fraunhofer IESE is making an important contribution to increasing the efficiency of digital solutions and to the digitalization of the economy and society,” said Prof. Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer Society. “With today's groundbreaking ceremony, we are sending a clear signal for the future. The importance of sustainable, resilient, and secure software and systems continues to grow and is also a decisive factor for our technological sovereignty. With modern, sustainable building structures, we are creating the conditions for Fraunhofer IESE to continue developing innovative solutions together with our partners in the future.”

The investment for the extension, including initial equipment, amounts to around €24 million: financing is provided by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate with approximately €7 million, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with approximately €10 million, and the federal government with approximately €7 million.

The new building meets the highest standards of sustainability and energy efficiency. Heating and cooling are provided entirely by geothermal energy from a geothermal probe field. In addition, a photovoltaic system on the roof and facades contributes to a sustainable power supply.

The extension blends harmoniously into the existing building concept of the institute center. A fourth building wing is being constructed in the style of the existing wings, but with a higher number of floors to meet future requirements.

In their welcoming remarks, Minister of Science Clemens Hoch and Mayor Beate Kimmel emphasized that the growth of research at Fraunhofer IESE contributes to strengthening Kaiserslautern as a center of science and, beyond that, to increasing the national and international visibility of research achievements in Rhineland-Palatinate:

"As a driver of innovation, Fraunhofer IESE is already one of the leading addresses in key future fields and key technologies. With its commitment, the institute is making a significant contribution to raising the national and international profile of research achievements in Kaiserslautern and Rhineland-Palatinate. That is why the state is supporting Fraunhofer IESE not only through the construction of an extension building, but also institutionally and, right from the start, through targeted project funding in its research areas," said Science Minister Clemens Hoch at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Fraunhofer IESE extension building. The building will not only strengthen the institute's outstanding position for the region, the state, and the economy, but will also create urgently needed space for new, forward-looking research, according to the minister.

Beate Kimmel, Mayor of Kaiserslautern, added: “With the expansion of Fraunhofer IESE, Kaiserslautern is gaining another beacon for research and innovation. More space for laboratories and creative forms of work means progress not only for the institute, but also for our entire city, which is growing and developing more and more as a center of science.”