More security for passports

“Passport inspection” the announcement booms out as you drift in to your local airport all tan from your vacation. Your passport establishes your identity; however, there are also many counterfeits in circulation. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Darmstadt, Germany, are developing solutions and new designs to better protect these documents from counterfeiters and swindlers through the EU Project named FIDELITY (http://www.fidelity-project.eu/). Birth certificates play an important in the research. Anyone wanting a new passport must present this – at least the first time. But there are 10,000 different types of birth certificates in the 50 US states alone. The situation does not look much better in Europe. How is an official supposed to recognize whether a document is genuine or not? Once the authorities have issued the passport the first time, it is valid – even if it should be established later that the birth certificate was falsified. To increase the security of birth certificates, the researchers are integrating a barcode for example, just like ones you see on packaging in supermarkets. If an official wants to check the authenticity of the document, the barcode can be read using a computer and the information stored in it compared with that on the paper document. In a further advance, the scientists are improving all of the steps of the passport application process.

Fraunhofer Institute for Graphics Research IGD
Fraunhoferstr. 5 | 64283 Darmstadt | www.igd.fraunhofer.de
Contact: Alexander Nouak | Phone +49 6151 155-147| alexander.nouak@igd.fraunhofer.de
Press: Dr. Konrad Baier | Phone +49 6151 155-146 | konrad.baier@igd.fraunhofer.de

Hydrogen storage for renewable energy

If the proportion of renewable energy increases, it also means increased dependency on the weather. Sometimes the wind blows strongly and the sun shines, and sometimes not. Nevertheless, the power grid in Germany is supposed to constantly provide industry and households with stable and sufficient electricity. The solution proposed by the “Hydrogen Power Storage & Solutions East Germany” Consortium (HYPOS): surplus energy from large-scale photovoltaic installations and wind farms will be used for electrolysis – eco-friendly hydrogen will be produced from hydrogen dioxide (a.k.a. water!) – with the products then stored. The hydrogen can be made available as a tailor-made alternative to natural gas at gas stations and for fuel cells. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting HYPOS with 45 million EUR in funding until 2020. The innovative conversion will also involve the chemical industry in the cities of Leuna and Böhlen. Prof. Ralf Wehrspohn, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM branch of the institute in Halle, Germany, is coordinating this strategic project and is Deputy Chair of HYPOS, a registered society. IWM is providing support for industrial producers with its research in materials science. In order to store hydrogen in salt domes and distribute it through pipelines, companies building the production facilities need to harden the materials used for the storage tanks and tubing in order to meet the new requirements. They can corrode due to mixtures of gases, for example, and become brittle due to exposure to hydrogen. Pre-existing defects that have no impact on natural gas pipeline operations often become worse when exposed to mixtures of gases containing hydrogen. The researchers intend to investigate the combined mechanical strength and corrosion resistance required using laboratory tests. IWM is working together with the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP on the design and development of modules and components for two combination solar/wind farms in Leuna and Böhlen that are planned to be the baseline energy source for the electrolysis.  

Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM, Halle Institute
Walter-Hülse-Straße 1 | 06120 Halle | www.iwm.fraunhofer.de
Contact: Prof. Dr. Ralf B. Wehrspohn | Phone +49 345  5589-100 | ralf.b.wehrspohn@iwmh.fraunhofer.de
Press: Clemens Homann | Phone +49 345  5589-213 | clemens.homann@iwmh.fraunhofer.de

Sustainable production in an urban region

Urban jungle or rural paradise? Where people choose to reside is a matter of taste. Companies, by contrast, make their choice of location based on sober cost-benefit analyses. A trend toward re-urbanization can be seen over the past years. Scientists in Stuttgart, Germany, at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO are offering interested companies surveys through which individualized solutions for successful production in urban areas are worked out. Location analyses have to move beyond purely cost-based calculations in order to depict the long-term prospects. The company really needs to be embedded in its environment in a broader economic way to create added value for all the stakeholders – the company, its employees, the cities, and the citizens. Researchers of the innovation association “Urban Production” in Stuttgart are investigating what opportunities production facilities located close to cities offer. Companies in urban areas profit from better access to a larger pool of skilled labor. Since employees have shorter commutes to work as a rule, production can be more flexible. Proximity to service providers and suppliers saves time and money. Dense industrial parks offer greater opportunity to exchange ideas and knowledge between companies. The necessity of carrying on business more sustainably due to dwindling natural resources and the world-wide trend toward urbanization represents a competitive advantage as well. However, an urban site also involves challenges, such as the need for more efficient and low-emission production for instance.

Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO
Nobelstraße 12 | 70569 Stuttgart | www.iao.fraunhofer.de
Contact: Joachim Lentes | Phone +49 711 970-2285 | joachim.lentes@iao.fraunhofer.de
Press: Juliane Segedi | Phone +49 711 970-2124 | juliane.segedi@iao.fraunhofer.de