Prizes and Distinctions

The Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS has been named one of the "Leading Innovators 2026" by FOCUS Business magazine and the research institute FactField. The research facility in Halle (Saale) specializes in the characterization and development of materials. Its goal is to develop solutions for industrial applications that promote sustainability and efficiency. The institute works closely with companies and research partners to accelerate technology transfer and strengthen competitiveness.

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European Research Council awards prestigious Synergy Grant to the DISRUPT team, aiming to pioneer revolutionary digital Radio-Frequency (RF) power solutions to tackle the growing energy demands of future wireless networks.

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The collaborative project “iGUARD – Inhalable RNA Therapeutics for Targeted Treatment of Lung Diseases” has been honored with the Lower Saxony Innovation Award 2025. The team of researchers from Hannover Medical School (MHH) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM received the award in the category “Knowledge and Technology Transfer.” The prize was presented on November 4, 2025, at a formal ceremony in Hannover by Falko Mohrs, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture. The Innovation Award is granted by the Niedersachsen.next innovation network and comes with a prize of €20,000.

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The team of authors received the GMM Literature Prize 2025 for their publication on a novel system for real-time analysis of nanoparticles during their synthesis. The prize was presented to the lead author, Ebrahim Taiedinejad, at the MikroSystemTechnik Kongress 2025.

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A method developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB enables bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic pathogens in sepsis patients to be identified much faster than before and with the highest precision. The approach is based on high-throughput sequencing of cell-free DNA circulating in the blood and was honored with the EARTO Innovation Award in the "Impact Delivered" category on October 14, 2025, in Brussels. The diagnostic kit is already approved for the indication of sepsis and is available as an IVD-certified product in routine care.

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The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has been awarded the German Sustainability Award (“Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis”) for companies in the "Research and Development" sector. This was announced today by the Foundation for the German Sustainability Award e.V. The award is given to Fraunhofer ISE for its research and development achievements towards sustainability as well as for its commitment to integrating sustainability into operational processes.

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A research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has won 1st prize in the "Research" category at the INNOspace Masters competition organized by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The team led by Dr. Jonas De Rose and Dr. David Lackner received the award for their approach to transferring established production technologies from terrestrial silicon photovoltaics to III-V high-efficiency solar cells for use in space.

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The “IML4E” (Industrial Machine Learning for Enterprises) project led by Fraunhofer FOKUS has been honoured with the “ITEA Award of Excellence 2025”. This award recognises outstanding achievements in applied research and development within the international ITEA programme.

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Erlangen, Germany / North Hollywood (CA), USA: The Fraunhofer-Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is excited to announce that its moving picture technol-ogy experts receive the world-famous Emmy® Award for engineering, science and technology for its JPEG XS video codec. This forward-looking standard for professional video production pushes the boundaries of high-quality transmis-sion over IP for a wide variety of applications in media and studio technology and streamlines real-time video processing in data centers.

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Max Julius Bode and Sarah Cwalina of the research group “Optical Metro, Access and In-House Networks” of the Photonic Networks department at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) received the Best Paper Award at the IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Automotive for their paper “Investigating Temperature Effects in Directly Modulated Laser-Diodes in Coherent FMCW-LiDAR Systems”. The event took place in Parma, Italy, and focused on the automotive sector - Dallara, the legendary motorsport manufacturer, presented the award.

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The Federal Ministry for Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) has awarded the 2025 Validation Prize to the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD. The award recognizes the outstanding transfer of excellent research results into economic and societal practice.

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A research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM has, for the first time, demonstrated that drug concentrations in the human lung can be measured directly via particles in exhaled breath — a breakthrough with major implications for the targeted development and optimization of inhaled therapies. For this groundbreaking study, Prof. Dr. Jens Hohlfeld, Head of Airway Research at Fraunhofer ITEM, together with Dr. Olaf Holz, received the prestigious Willi Stahlhofen Award from the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM). The award ceremony took place on June 24 at the ISAM Congress in Washington DC, USA.

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Prof. Dr. Michael Moseler, Head of the Tribology Business Unit at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg and Professor for Simulation of Functional Nanosystems at the University of Freiburg, has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant worth 2.5 million euros for the research and development of a digital twin that can describe lubrication under high loads and thus predict the design and operating conditions for energy-efficient machines. An ERC grant is one of the most prestigious awards in European research funding and is awarded to top researchers for outstanding scientific research approaches.

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A great honor for Dr. rer. nat. Linda Steinacher: As part of the graduation ceremony of Hannover Medical School (MHH) last Friday, she was awarded one of the two doctoral prizes of the Society of Friends of MHH e.V., each worth €2,500. Out of 151 doctoral graduates, only two received this special distinction for outstanding scientific achievements.

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A publication on glycolipid biosurfactants from the working group of Dr. Susanne Zibek at Fraunhofer IGB has been awarded the Distinguished Paper Award 2025 by the Journal of Surfactants and Detergents. This award is presented annually by the American Cleaning Institute®. The article, which focuses on cellobiosolipids (CL) and mannosyerythritollipids (MEL), provides a comprehensive overview of the microbial production of these biosurfactants and their potential industrial applications.

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The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, together with the Digital Innovation Hub Photonics (DIHP) and Quantum Optics Jena GmbH, has been awarded the Technology Transfer Prize of the German Physical Society (DPG) for the successful transfer of quantum optics research into marketable high-security applications. The award ceremony took place on May 22 as part of the 6th WTT Forum in Bremen.

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Dr. Filofteia-Laura Toma, Senior Research Scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden, has been named the recipient of the 2025 “TSS President’s Award for Meritorious Service”. Presented on May 7 by the U.S.-based Thermal Spray Society (TSS), the award honors her scientific excellence and her long-standing leadership within the international materials engineering community.

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In her paper titled "Machine Learning and Digital Twins for RUL Prediction of DC Semiconductor Circuit Breakers", Lena presents a novel approach and base implementation of a digital twin framework to predict remaining useful life (RUL) of power semiconductors in real-time. The prognosis is based on actual device conditions in addition to estimations derived from power cycling tests and numerical degradation models, using machine learning methods.

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Zhenyu Zhang, research associate at Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institut (HHI), received the Impactful Presentation Award at Photonics West 2025. His recognized contribution presents significant advances in fiber optic tactile sensing for minimally invasive surgery. The research was carried out as part of Palpable, an EU-funded project aimed at transforming the European healthcare industry through innovations in photonics, multi-sensor technologies, and soft robotics.

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Novel functional coatings for battery powders developed at Fraunhofer IKTS prevent interactions with the electrolyte and thus the degradation of the cells. For this development, the research team was honored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) as the Innovation Project of the Year 2025 in the Industrial Collective Research funding program.

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Das Projektkonsortium »Digitales Testfeld Air Cargo« (DTAC) ist am 20. Februar 2025 in Nairobi (Kenia) mit dem »International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo« ausgezeichnet worden. Mit im Rennen waren namhafte Big Player der Branche. Die Auszeichnung im Rahmen der »air cargo Africa 2025«, einer führenden Messe und Konferenz der Branche, ist ein bedeutender Meilenstein für die Erfolgsgeschichte des Luftfrachtprojekts.

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The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy (StMWi) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft awarded the Hugo Geiger Prize for the best dissertations in applied research to three next-generation researchers, one each from Freising, Munich and Aachen. The winners were chosen for their innovative ideas and applied doctoral work completed in close collaboration with a Fraunhofer institute. The Fraunhofer Founder Award was also presented for a spin-off with an active, successful market presence.

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Demonstration of an automation-compatible thermoplastic construction method for aircraft fuselages receives award in Paris

The “Multi Functional Fuselage Demonstrator” (“MFFD”), which was developed in the European Clean Sky 2/Clean Aviation program with the substantial involvement of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, was honored with the “JEC Composites Innovation Award 2025” in the “Aerospace – Parts” category on January 13, 2025, in Paris for its contribution to achieving the goals of future high-rate production and sustainable flight. Airbus, as overall coordinator, applied for the prestigious award on behalf of the approximately 40 international project partners involved.

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In the "HyWaSand" project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS has developed a storage compartment flap in lightweight sandwich construction for a truck driver's cab. The solution and in particular the manufacturing process used, which is suitable for processing thermoplastics in large-scale production, was honored today in Paris with the JEC Composites Innovation Award 2025 in the "Automotive & Road Transportation - Process" category.

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