Press / Newsroom

Biogas plants produce methane along with more than 40 percent CO2 which has been released into the atmosphere in conventional biogas plants. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM have now found a way to convert this waste product into additional methane, thus drastically increasing the methane yield from biogas plants. The process is up and running and the research team is currently scaling up the demonstration plant to five cubic meters of methane per hour.

Viruses can make animals and humans sick – or healthy: Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have succeeded in genetically modifying the herpes simplex virus type 1, which triggers painful cold sores, in such a way that it can be used in the fight against cancer in the future.

By 2045, all electricity in Germany should come from renewable sources. The problem is that wind and solar power do not provide a regular electricity supply, but rather fluctuate. As part of the Kopernikus project SynErgie, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA is working with partners to develop an energy synchronization platform which will allow industry to offset these fluctuations and synchronize production with power generation. The Fraunhofer IPA researchers are also currently developing the first electricity-saving application for the IT platform.

The European Union wants the Life Cycle Assessment of buildings to be given more significance in the future, and the EU Taxonomy creates a systematic basis for this: It defines criteria for evaluating investments, including for the climate change mitigation objective of the taxonomy. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP worked together with a business partner to develop a software suite that combines ecological indicators and economic calculations for investments. This has an influence on banks’ lending decisions since interest surcharges are possible for non-green investments in the future.

The demand for cash increases in times of crisis since many people consider banknotes and coins to be a particularly safe way to keep money. Moreover, cash is the only instrument of payment that is largely independent of a technical infrastructure. It is therefore essential that, during a crisis, people can access cash, particularly when other – electronic – means of payment might not be available or only to a limited extent. This is why researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS are working closely with partners to develop a security framework that can be implemented during emergencies and crises. It specifically aims to further secure the work processes of cash management companies.

Batteries for electric cars and mobile devices are easy to use, but repeated charging and discharging accelerates aging, reduces the performance of battery cells and shortens their service life. In the SPARTACUS research project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISC are using a range of different sensors to monitor the internal status of battery cells. The data can be used to optimize the battery management system, the charging and discharging processes and the stress on individual cells in the battery module. This makes batteries significantly faster to charge — and even extends their service life.

On May 19, 2022, the senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft elected three executive vice presidents to the new executive units of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Prof. Axel Müller-Groeling, currently director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT and acting director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS, was elected to the Research Infrastructures and Digital Transformation executive unit. The Human Resources, Corporate Culture and Legal Affairs executive unit will be headed by Elisabeth Ewen, previously director of Human Resources and Corporate Culture at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Dr. Sandra Krey will be responsible for Finances and Controlling. She is joining us from MAN Truck & Bus SE, where she was most recently senior vice president of Accounting & Financial Processes. The executive vice presidents of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will take office as of the next possible date, subject to successful contract negotiations with the Fraunhofer senate and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

“Qualitative” and “quantitative” may be just a couple of letters apart, but the difference is huge. When it comes to fluorescence measurement technology, for example, it has so far been used almost exclusively for qualitative analyses. Now, for the first time, a team of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM is successfully using the method to obtain quantitative measurements with a high local resolution, and is receiving the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize in recognition of this achievement.

Chemical seed treatment rids seeds of fungi, viruses and bacteria. However, this comes at a high cost: The active agents used can also have harmful effects for farmers, the soil and the environment. On the other hand, electrons can be used to treat seeds in an environmentally friendly, sustainable and economical way — a method which helped the E-VITA GmbH start-up, a joint venture of the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP and Ceravis AG, to win the Fraunhofer Founder Award for 2021.

Keeping things constantly connected to the internet costs energy — a lot of energy. Even small Internet-of-Things nodes run out of battery entirely in just a few weeks. All of this is changing with the RFicient® chip, developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, which saves power consumption by up to 99 percent. This development is a big step forward for the Internet of Things and has secured the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for the developer team.