Airport of the future

In just under two years, the Berlin-Brandenburg region will be home to Europe’s most modern airport – the new Capital Airport BBI. In order to integrate the region’s innovative potential early on in the construction phase, Berlin Airports and the states of Berlin and Brandenburg launched the MATNET/SustAir (Modern Airport, Sustainable Airport – Testbed for New Efficient Technologies) project in November 2007. Today, for the first time, 21 regional companies and research institutes are presenting sunrise technologies for more efficient and sustainable airport operations at the “Airport Innovations Forum”. The exhibition is linked to the evening lecture on innovation, which is part of the BBI Campus series of lectures, providing students with tangible examples and industry contacts.

Manfred Körtgen, BBI/Technical Director at Berlin Airports: “It is extremely important that BBI gets off to a good technological start. We will also face the technical challenges of the future, to work efficiently and conserve resources. The MATNET project puts us at the cutting edge of technology.”

Since its conception, the MATNET/SustAir project has established itself as a discussion platform for aviation experts. By integrating and exchanging knowledge, the region’s scientific know-how can be used optimally for operating and realising BBI. MATNET combines expert knowledge with airport requirements in topical workshop discussions. Nine workshop discussions have already been held with topics ranging from IT cooperation through lighting technologies to water management – and attracting almost 600 participants.

MATNET was developed by the Berlin-Brandenburg Aerospace Alliance (BBAA), the Transport Technology Systems Network (TSB FAV), TSB Innovationsagentur Berlin GmbH and Berlin Airports and is supported by the Technology Foundation Brandenburg, the Brandenburg Economic Development Board (ZAB) and Berlin Partner. Contact details and further information on MATNET/SustAir can be found online at www.berlin-airport.de under the heading Capital Airport BBI.

BBI Campus, the university project of Berlin Airports, was developed in cooperation with the employment office in Potsdam. Berlin Airports is thus continuing its successful cooperation with universities in Berlin and Brandenburg. Besides giving students the chance to consult with and profit directly from the know-how and experience of acknowledged airport and aviation experts, the series of lectures also enable students to gain an insight into the varied world of work in an airport environment.