Press / Newsroom

At the world's leading trade fair for the process industry, ACHEMA in Frankfurt am Main, the Fraunhofer alliance for the chemistry lead market will present itself to the industry as a strong partner thanks to its combined expertise. From August 22 to 26, 2022, the participating institutes will showcase their current joint research activities, which focus on several areas. These include the digitalization of chemical processes, further development of green chemistry, facilitation of scale-up, safety and regulatory issues, and the efficiency of chemical processes as well as the development of a circular economy.

From August 2022, Prof. Manfred Renner and Prof. Christian Doetsch are taking on joint roles in charge of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT. Most recently acting as heads of the institute’s Products and Energy divisions respectively, the two renowned scientists have been vital in shaping the direction of the institute. They are taking over from Prof. Eckhard Weidner, who is retiring.

As the world's largest copper exporter, Chile is encountering a growing number of sulfur-based ore layers containing toxic arsenic in its copper mines. Conventional strategies for separating and landfilling arsenic are proving limited in this area. The German-Chilean project team, led on the German side by the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies IWKS, is working towards optimizing and advancing copper production processes so that Chile is able to tackle the problem of arsenic in the most effec-tive, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly way going forward.

Pieces of plastic in the sea, chlorophyll content in bodies of water, the degree of drought in fields – since April 2022, the German environmental satellite EnMAP has been orbiting our Earth and will be collecting myriad data during its five-year mission. The Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed various core components for the optical system of the hyperspectral satellite.

On May 19, 2022, the Fraunhofer senate elected the three executive vice presidents to the new executive units of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Today, on August 1, they are taking up their respective posts. The executive board of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is thus now complete and reflects the transformation of Fraunhofer’s organizational structure. Prof. Axel Müller-Groeling is taking over the Research Infrastructures and Digital Transformation executive unit. Elisabeth Ewen is heading up Human Resources, Corporate Culture and Legal Affairs, and Dr. Sandra Krey is leading Finances and Controlling.

How does work affect our daily lives and how does it affect our mental and physical health? How do technical solutions change people and how can devices be made more human-centric? A five-person team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO is investigating these issues. In the NeuroLab, a laboratory for neuroergonomics, scientists are researching concepts and methods for developing intelligent interfaces between technology and humans.

Until now, noisy and power-guzzling building dryers have normally been the only way of repairing water damage to apartments from leaking pipes or following heavy rain and flooding. The “FastDry”® technology developed by Fraunhofer researchers requires significantly less energy and works at least as quickly as conventional systems. The idea that underpins the technology is incredibly simple.

Patients with severe respiratory or lung diseases require intensive treatment and their lung function needs to be monitored on a continuous basis. As part of the Pneumo.Vest project, Fraunhofer researchers have developed a technology whereby noises in the lungs are recorded using a textile vest with integrated acoustic sensors. The signals are then converted and displayed visually using software. In this way, patients outside of intensive care units can still be monitored continuously. The technology increases the options for diagnosis and improves the patient’s quality of life.

Everyone hears differently – this applies inside a vehicle too. That is why Fraunhofer IDMT in Oldenburg has developed a technological concept for fast and individual sound adaptation, which has been integrated into the multimedia system of vehicles from the Mercedes-Benz Group AG. At the heart of the development is an algorithm that easily adjusts the sound of music according to passengers’ wishes. Once set, the sound is optimally adapted to listening preferences.

Load carriers such as pallets, crates or tanks are indispensable for transporting all kinds of products, but hardly ever get any of the limelight themselves. Fraunhofer researchers have devoted themselves to this topic and have now developed a software to track and make visible the paths of the load carriers. This gives the logistics sector enormous opportunities to improve efficiency. With Logistikbude, the Fraunhofer researchers have even founded their own spin-off.