Lehrstuhl für Baustofftechnik – Ruhr-Universität Bochum

What Lehrstuhl für Baustofftechnik – Ruhr-Universität Bochum does

The Chair of Construction Materials Technology (Lehrstuhl für Baustofftechnik) is an academic research and education unit within the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Ruhr University Bochum, a public German university in North Rhine-Westphalia. The chair focuses on concrete technology and construction materials science, with research concentrations in fresh concrete rheology, hardened concrete durability assessment, performance-based acceptance criteria, fatigue behavior of high-strength and carbon-reinforced concrete, and sustainable or circular construction approaches. Its activities span three pillars: graduate-level civil engineering education (Construction Materials I & II and master's modules), collaborative research projects (most notably the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center SFB 1683 on circular construction launched in 2025), and laboratory testing services for industry partners.

The chair maintains five specialized experimental laboratories (concrete, testing, mortar, chemistry, and microscopy) on the Ruhr University campus in Bochum at Universitätsstrasse 150, Building IC 6-115. Its operations are sustained through a research-grant-driven budget model funded by German federal bodies — primarily the DFG (German Research Foundation), BMWK (Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Action), and AiF/IGF (Industrial Collective Research) — supplemented by industry collaboration with firms such as MC-Bauchemie, Heidelberg Materials, Uniper Kraftwerke, BauMineral Kraftwerkstoffe, and Forschungsgesellschaft Transportbeton. The chair does not sell commercial products or services. Its go-to-market consists of university student recruitment, industry partnership cultivation, and academic conference engagement at events such as RILEM, fib, ICCP, and ibausil. Leadership transitioned in May 2024, with Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Iurie Curoșu succeeding Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rolf Breitenbücher as chair holder; Prof. Breitenbücher was awarded honorary membership of the International Society for Concrete Pavements at the 13th ICCP in Minneapolis in 2024.

Name

Lehrstuhl für Baustofftechnik – Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Legal name

Lehrstuhl für Baustofftechnik – Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Website

https://baustoffe.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Chair of Construction Materials Technology at Ruhr University Bochum is an academic research and education unit specializing in concrete technology, durability assessment, and sustainable construction materials, serving graduate students, industry partners, and German federal research funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Research — Construction Materials

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Universities with Architecture, Built Environment & Design Engineering (EDAHAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA), Engineering & Technical Professions (PE, Engineering CPD) (EDAAALAF)

Keywords

• Concrete technology research
• Construction materials testing
• Concrete durability assessment
• Sustainable construction materials
• Civil engineering education

Headquarters

HQ city

Bochum

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: Primary revenue from federal and state government research grants (BMWK, DFG, AiF/IGF), covering fundamental and applied research projects in construction materials technology

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Chair of Construction Materials at Ruhr-University Bochum operates as an academic research and education unit focused on concrete technology, construction materials testing, and durability research. It delivers university-level courses in construction materials, supervises doctoral and master's theses, conducts collaborative funded research projects (including SFB 1683 on circular construction), and provides laboratory testing services to industry partners through its specialized concrete, mortar, testing, chemistry, and microscopy laboratories.

Product overview

The Chair of Construction Materials (Lehrstuhl für Baustofftechnik) at Ruhr University Bochum operates as an academic research and education unit within the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Rather than a commercial product portfolio, its offerings consist of university-level educational programs in construction materials technology (including Construction Materials I & II and specialized master's modules), collaborative research projects (such as SFB 1683 on circular construction), and laboratory testing services for industry partners. The research focuses on concrete durability, fresh concrete rheology, fatigue behavior, and sustainable construction materials, with practical applications extending through student workshops, concrete canoe competitions, and outreach programs for secondary school students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Experimental Laboratory Facilities: Various specialized laboratories including concrete lab (Betonlabor), testing lab (Prüflabor), mortar lab (Mörtellabor), chemistry lab (Chemielabor), and microscopy lab (Mikroskopielabor)

Products and services

• Construction Materials Research and Testing Services Comprehensive research and laboratory testing services for concrete, mortar, and construction materials, including durability assessment, performance testing, and quality control, delivered through specialized concrete, mortar, testing, chemistry, and microscopy laboratories for industry partners and research projects.
• Educational Programs in Construction Materials Technology University-level courses in construction materials technology covering concrete technology, durability, repair methods, and practical laboratory training for civil engineering students, including Construction Materials I & II and specialized master's modules on durability and repair.
• Collaborative Research Center 1683 (SFB 1683) Multi-institutional research initiative focused on transforming resource-intensive concrete construction into sustainable circular construction methods through systematic deconstruction and component reuse.
• Durability of Concrete According to the Performance Principle Research project developing performance-based acceptance criteria for concrete durability assessment, including correlation analyses between direct and indirect testing methods for site application.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple doctoral dissertations completed and published
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Collaborative Research Center 1683 (SFB 1683) - Partner UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 May 2025Multi-institutional collaboration including Ruhr University Bochum, University of Stuttgart, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) focusing on transforming resource-intensive concrete construction into sustainable circular construction methods.
• Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 May 2025Collaborating on subproject B2 of SFB 1683 for assessment methods and classification models for reuse of reinforced concrete elements.
• Technical University of Munich - Chair of Materials Science and TestingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner in AiF-funded research project on performance-based durability evaluation of concrete.
• MC-BauchemieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner providing practical training for students on concrete repair techniques, crack injection methods, and durability assessment. Experts from MC-Bauchemie support hands-on internships at the chair.
• Heidelberg Materials AGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of teaching excursions for students visiting cement plants to understand cement production processes and sustainability concepts.
• BAM - Federal Institute for Materials Research and TestingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports practical training sessions on inspection and testing of concrete structures as part of master's module on durability and repair.
• Alfried Krupp School LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing concrete technology outreach to secondary school students including hands-on experiments and career orientation.
• Uniper Kraftwerke GmbH and BauMineral Kraftwerkstoffe GmbHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of annual construction materials excursions to Scholven power plant in Gelsenkirchen, providing insights into mineral byproducts from coal combustion used in cement and concrete.
• HolzbauprofisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of teaching excursions for timber construction elements production, providing practical insights into prefabricated house manufacturing.
• Forschungsgesellschaft Transportbeton e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partner investigating effects of increased fresh concrete and curing temperatures on concrete durability.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• KIT – Institute of Concrete Structures and Building Materials: Fourth core partner in SFB 1683; another German technical university institute with adjacent research on concrete materials, structural testing, and sustainability assessment.
• TU Dresden – Institute of Building Materials: Long-standing peer university chair conducting research on cementitious materials and concrete technology, with comparable doctoral training programs and industry collaborations.
• BAM – Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing: Core SFB 1683 partner and Germany's federal materials testing authority; conducts similarly scoped research on concrete durability and reuse, with comparable laboratory capabilities.
• University of Stuttgart – Institute of Construction Materials: Core partner in the SFB 1683 consortium, conducting parallel university-based research on cementitious materials and circular construction with directly overlapping research portfolio.
• TU München – Chair of Materials Science and Testing (cbm): Closest academic peer: a university chair at another German technical university focused on construction materials research, currently an active project partner in AiF-funded performance-based durability work.
• FEhS – Institut für Baustoff-Forschung: Independent German building-materials research institute closely aligned with the iron/steel slag and cement industries; conducts comparable applied research and testing on concrete constituent materials.
• RWTH Aachen – Institute of Building Materials Research (IBAC): Comparable university research institute in Germany with overlapping concrete-technology research, testing laboratory infrastructure, and close ties to the German cement and construction industries.

Others

• VDZ – Verein Deutscher Zementwerke (Research Institute of the German Cement Works Association): Industry-association research body representing German cement manufacturers; conducts parallel technical research and standards development on cement and concrete, serving as both peer and ecosystem enabler.

Regional players

• ETH Zürich – Institute for Building Materials: Swiss peer with highly comparable research on cementitious materials, concrete durability, and sustainable construction, but operating in a different national funding and regulatory context.
• TU Delft – Materials & Environment Section: Dutch peer conducting parallel research on concrete durability, circular construction, and supplementary cementitious materials, with overlapping academic-industry collaboration models.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lehrstuhl-f%C3%BCr-baustofftechnik

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Lehrstuhl für Baustofftechnik – Ruhr-Universität Bochum