Press Releases

Hardly any other chemical substance can compete with PFAS, due to their unique properties. That explains why it is so hard to find a replacement for these toxic “forever chemicals”, which accumulate in the environment and do not break down over time. A team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM has succeeded in developing solutions that hold great promise of targeted substitution for PFAS in fields including medical engineering.

There is fresh momentum in our protein supply — and it’s moving along on six legs. Insects are a source of protein with a smaller resource footprint than conventional alternatives in every possible way. To ensure the safety of insect farms and their products, Fraunhofer researchers have developed a system that reliably detects pathogens right away, at low cost and with the possibility of automation.

To test complex brain functions during neurosurgical procedures, surgeons must operate on awake, locally anesthetized patients. This allows surgeons to interact with them and test how their intervention affects brain function. However, opening the skull while the patient is awake is extremely stressful for them psychologically. A new robot-assisted and optically precisely monitored laser procedure developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen is set to enable gentle, vibration-free and virtually silent craniotomies while the patient is awake. The bone tissue of the skull is ablated using short-pulse laser radiation.

Bright prospects for personalized medicine: Experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM harness their know-how in microfluidics and single-cell technologies to print organ structures. They will be presenting their developments at the joint Fraunhofer booth (Hall 3, Booth E74) at the MEDICA 2024 trade show from November 11 to 14.

Using hydrogen to generate electricity does not cause any climate-damaging emissions. But storing and transporting the gas pose technical challenges. With this in mind, Fraunhofer researchers use ammonia, a hydrogen derivative that is easier to handle, as a starting material. Ammonia is cracked in a high-temperature fuel cell stack, and the hydrogen produced in this process is converted to electricity. The waste heat can be used as heat energy, for example.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE in Kassel has a new leader: Prof. Martin Braun is taking over as the new director of the research institute on November 1, 2024. He is also a professor for sustainable electrical energy systems at the University of Kassel.

The further development and evolution of existing storage systems is a key prerequisite for the energy transition. The Center for Digitalized Battery Cell Manufacturing (ZDB) at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and acp systems AG have joined forces to commission a winding system for cylindrical battery cells featuring flexible formats and design. It serves as an innovative research and production platform to test new cell formats and components along with tab designs and also enables development of large-format cells for future battery technologies. The winding system is the first of its kind in the world. It is embedded in an automated, digitalized battery cell production infrastructure.

Despite being widely popular, moths, and their larvae in particular, are not always welcome in forests, parks and gardens. Some moth species constitute a real threat to forests when they appear en masse. In the past, they have stripped entire deciduous and coniferous stands bare in many places in Germany. Forest pest monitoring is consequently particularly important to track their reproduction and to protect forests from greater damage. Research scientist from the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF are developing a digital, automated pheromone trap together with the Nordwestdeutsche Forstliche Versuchsanstalt in the DiMoTrap project which could significantly reduce the labor of hitherto complex manual monitoring for forest protection.

Whether in Canada, California or around the Mediterranean — forest fires are becoming more frequent and, above all, more severe around the world. Especially in summer, heat, drought and wind often turn such fires into raging infernos, and the climate crisis is certainly not helping. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI, and start-up CAURUS Technologies GmbH are responding to the increasing global threat. Together, they are developing an innovative extinguishing method that can be used to fight large-scale fires more efficiently from the air.

On October 1, Prof. Miriam Unterlass is taking over as the director of the re-nowned Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg. Having previously taught at the University of Konstanz and TU Wien, the chemist and materials scientist is bringing her expertise in the synthesis of new functional materials to enrich the portfolio of Fraunhofer ISC and the University of Würzburg, where she will hold the Chair for Chemical Technology of Materials Synthesis.