DiSTILL project successfully completed in Lusatia

The DiSTILL project, which spanned approximately three years, has successfully reached its conclusion. On April 15, 2026, the digital planning and simulation tool, designed for the further development of the Lusatian region as an international logistics hub, was presented during a digital closing event. The tool is now available in a final development state and has been continuously optimized throughout the project duration.

Comprehensive Analysis Platform for Logistics Processes

The DiSTILL tool provides companies, planners, and regional decision-makers with a comprehensive platform for analyzing multimodal transport and logistics processes in Lusatia. It integrates road, rail, and water transport, allowing for transparent representation of transport flows. Bottlenecks and capacity risks can be identified early.

Based on this, future development scenarios up to the year 2040 can be simulated by varying different parameters such as traffic volume and infrastructural capacities. Detailed toll data provides a robust data foundation for analyzing real freight transport flows. For logistics companies, this means that transport chains can be planned more effectively and alternative routes can be evaluated.

The integration of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) as well as central corridors such as North Sea-Baltic, Rhine-Danube, or Scandinavia-Mediterranean enables the positioning of Lusatia within overarching European transport structures. Furthermore, location information on airports has been integrated into the platform, allowing for a joint consideration of all relevant transport modes – road, rail, waterway, and air transport. This opens up new perspectives for the development of Lusatia as a logistics location in the international context.

Scientific and Strategic Benefits

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Straube, head of the Logistics department at TU Berlin and project leader of DiSTILL, emphasizes: “DiSTILL is a tool that connects science, strategic planning, and practical logistics requirements. For companies and public authorities in Lusatia, the tool opens up new opportunities to make transport and infrastructure decisions not only based on past data but also by incorporating well-founded future scenarios.” This creates planning security and strengthens the region’s competitiveness.

André Fritsche, managing director of the Cottbus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK), highlights that the DiSTILL project has brought together important industry players and that the simulation tool has made potentials visible. This is crucial for Lusatia to clearly position itself in the competition of logistics locations.

Practical Relevance and User Feedback

The practical relevance of the DiSTILL tool was clearly demonstrated by various users during the closing event. Ron Fiskal, project manager at Lobbe Industrieservice GmbH & Co KG, explains: “The nodes and consolidated information in the DiSTILL tool have saved us a lot of research work and supported us in developing a new transport chain from Lusatia to Switzerland.”

Sven Noatzke, managing director of the Lion Group, emphasizes the added value of the free iFrame access to the tool, which provides transparent insights into traffic and location data of the region. Mario Naumann, Head of Supply Chain & Site Logistics at BASF InfraService & Solutions Lausitz GmbH, stresses the importance of transparent and high-quality data for the strategic further development of location logistics.

Roland Peine, technical managing director of ASG Spremberg GmbH, describes the DiSTILL tool as a valuable treasure of knowledge that supports discussions with companies on-site. Uwe Franz, team leader at Rhenus Freight East GmbH, adds that the results of the tool provide well-founded information and assist in the targeted approach to new customers.

Long-term Availability of the Tool

Although the project officially ends on April 30, 2026, the DiSTILL tool will remain accessible for at least ten years. The data and the platform will continue to be available, allowing companies, planners, and institutions to utilize the information for informed decisions regarding infrastructure, transport chains, and location development.

DiSTILL platform: www.distill-lausitz.de