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NAFEMS World Congress 2025
Special Recognition & Best Paper Award
Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH was proudly represented by our colleagues Peter Wimmer, Wolfgang Wagner, and Karlheinz Kunter at NAFEMS World Congress 2025—an inspiring event bringing together global leaders in simulation and engineering.
A special highlight: The Best Paper Award in the category “Practical Use of Simulation Technology” was awarded to the joint contribution titled:
“Efficient Joining Failure Assessment of Multi-material Car Bodies in Crash”
This award-winning work was the result of a strong collaboration between Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH, showcasing how simulation can be applied to address complex challenges in automotive car body development. The presentation mainly focussed on our L2 Framework and was held by Tony Porsch (Volkswagen AG) and Karlheinz Kunter (VIRTUAL VEHICLE).
This award reflects the success of a focused, cross-organizational effort to bring practical simulation solutions to the forefront of vehicle development.
Advancing Automotive Safety and Sustainability with SALIENT
Our team also presented groundbreaking research from the EU-funded SALIENT project (Novel Concepts for Safer, Lighter, Circular and Smarter Vehicle Design) at the Congress.
The focus was on an actively controllable crash box – a smart structural component designed to enhance crashworthiness in mixed traffic scenarios.
This innovation leverages shape memory alloys (SMA) to enable active adaptation during collisions, contributing to safer and more sustainable vehicle designs.
As part of our contributions, Wolfgang Wagner also authored a paper titled “Innovative front-end structure (FES) concepts for improved crash compatibility,” showcasing our findings and the potential impact of this technology (Co authorship Dr. Karlheinz Kunter).
The SALIENT project emphasizes lightweight construction, integrating aluminum and thermoplastic composites reinforced with carbon fiber (TP-CFRP). By combining these advanced materials with intelligent design and SMA technology, we’re setting new standards for vehicle safety and efficiency.
