Research into highly stressed metallic structural materials has been carried out at the Leibniz Institute for Material-Oriented Technologies - IWT in Bremen since 1950. As a unique international feature, the IWT combines the three disciplines of materials engineering/material testing, process engineering and production engineering under one roof. This interdisciplinary cooperation enables the scientists to map and research overarching issues with particular practical relevance along the entire process chain. With a view to new materials, innovative processes and optimized components, the IWT is dedicated, among other things, to the research foci of additive manufacturing and hydrogen technologies.