Press / Newsroom

At the world’s largest trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry, 14 Fraunhofer units have adopted the “We know plastics” slogan and will be showcasing innovative, sustainable and efficient approaches, solutions and developments for plastics processing. From October 19 to 26, 2022, the topics of circular economy, digital transformation, climate protection and functionalization will take center stage at Booth SC01 in Hall 7.

If we look at all of the business sectors in Germany, industry requires the largest amount of water. This makes access to efficient technology for cleaning and recycling water all the more important for this sector in particular. Ideally, this technology should also allow energy and valuable raw materials to be retrieved so that they can be reused in production. In order to address all of these issues in a practical way, researchers at Fraunhofer have been developing a testing and technology platform. It is located on-site at a large wastewater treatment plant, where the wastewater from one of the largest chemical parks in Europe is treated.

What happens when we breathe in nanoparticles emitted by a laser printer, for example? Could these nanoparticles damage the respiratory tract or perhaps even other organs? To answer these questions, Fraunhofer researchers are developing the “NanoCube” exposure device. The Nanocube’s integrated multi-organ chip set up in the laboratory of the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) and by its spin-off organization “TissUse” detects interaction between nanoparticles and lung cells, the uptake of nanoparticles into the bloodstream and possible effects on the liver.

People use their eyes and ears to pick up on traffic situations involving potential hazards. For self-driving vehicles to do the same thing, they need a whole host of sensors. As the number of sensors they contain increases, however, so too does the amount of space required to fit them in – something that is often incompatible with the vision of designers. Now, researchers at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have discovered a method of integrating certain sensors discreetly. Their solution lies in the vehicle’s headlights, where they are combining optical light, radar and LiDAR.

When you mix together black and white, you get gray — and with it, a new method that should allow complex electronic systems to monitor themselves. Using so-called grey box models, on which researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM are working, it will be possible to detect signs of wear or manipulation in electronic systems at an early stage, before an actual failure occurs. The new process is being initially developed and tested for safety-critical applications in the automotive and rail sectors. The basic principle can, however, be transferred to many more application areas.

Practical and environmentally friendly, e-scooters offer great flexibility. It is no wonder that more and more people are using this form of transport. However, this rise in popularity has been accompanied by an increase in accidents resulting in severe injuries. The risk associated with these speedy runabouts is widely underestimated. In response to this, Fraunhofer researchers studied a typical accident scenario and the associated injuries as part of the HUMAD project. The experts also tested novel materials for helmets and protective gear. These could provide much better protection than conventional products.

Back in 2019, BioNTech was far from a household name. Nowadays, however, the pharmaceutical company from Mainz is world-famous for developing and producing Comirnaty©, a COVID-19 vaccine. The company’s original aim was to develop personalized mRNA-based treatments to fight cancer – a goal that it continues to pursue to this day. Since 2016, a research team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM has collaborated with BioNTech to optimize the planning, management and documentation of their production processes. This work culminated in the development of two software platforms, one for vaccines and one for cancer treatments, which help organize and optimize the production processes at BioNTech today. These systems are in use and are continuously adapted and improved as situations and requirements change.

Cells have an efficient waste disposal system. Proxidrugs utilize this system as part of new treatments for cancer, infections and Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP are working with partners to develop this new drug class.

In collaboration with TU Dresden, Fraunhofer researchers have developed a process for obtaining valuable, high-purity ethyl acetate from whey. This can be used, for example, to produce environmentally friendly adhesives, thereby replacing conventional ethyl acetate extracted from fossil-based raw materials. It also eliminates the need for costly disposal of the molasses produced during whey processing.

Climate change is causing major challenges especially for plant breeders. An intelligent field robot and X-ray technology are helping them selecting heat-tolerant plant varieties. The sensors in the high-tech machine were developed by the Fraunhofer Development Center for X-ray Technology, a division of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS.