Hannover. Everything was in place for the premiere of LightCon – if the coronavirus had not appeared. In the meantime, many trade fairs have been postponed to spring or early summer, so that it has become tight around the premiere date of LightCon. In addition, the current planning uncertainty at companies makes it difficult to prepare trade fairs. The organizers have therefore decided not to launch the platform for cross-material and cross-technology lightweight construction until 23 – 24 June 2021.

"The anticipation of LightCon is huge – from the speakers, from the partners and from us," said Maria Christina Mihm, LightCon project manager at Deutsche Messe AG. "It was therefore not easy for us to postpone the premiere until June 2021. In view of other events, which will now as an exception take place in May or July, there was no alternative to this step. The trade fair calendar has to make sense for the entire market." For example, HANNOVER MESSE has been postponed this year from April to July. From 13 to 17 July 2020, lightweight construction will once again be an important topic at the world's leading trade fair for industry – not only at the exhibition, but also at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy's second Lightweighting Summit.

"Our partners support the decision to postpone the first edition of LightCon and the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy will of course remain our patron for the start of LightCon in 2021," said Mihm. "The tailwind behind LightCon is exceptional. The bottom line is that we now see it as an opportunity use this year's good preparation to make next year even better."

Dr. Gunnar Merz, managing director of Composites United, added, "Of course all of us would have preferred a different situation. However, in a case such as the corona virus, which also affects our designated partner country South Korea, it is important to make a prudent and sensible decision. We did that by postponing the LightCon premiere to June 2021. The market wanted Lightcon in June and so it remains, only now a year later." Composites United is one of the world's largest networks for fiber-based, multi-material lightweight construction and a founding partner of LightCon.

LightCon will be a platform for all lightweight construction solutions – for competing materials and procedures as well as for hybrid solutions. The new congress-fair is a marketplace for competition as well as a high-quality contact exchange for forging new ideas, partnerships and networks.

Peter Altmaier, Minister of Germany's Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, is patron of LightCon. Event partners of LightCon include Berlin Partner, C³ carbon concrete composite, the German Foundry Industry Association, the German Solid Forming Association, the International Magnesium Association, the Lightweight Construction Interest Group (igeL), the Landshut Lightweight Construction Cluster, the VDEh Steel Association, Mobility goes Additive, the NanoMikroWerkstoffePhotonik.NRW Cluster, New Materials Fürth GmbH, and the clusters Nanotechnology and New Materials.