Press / Newsroom

Overfertilization in agriculture weakens crops, endangers drinking water quality and harms the soil. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB are now developing an alternative fertilizer that is fully biodegradable and only supplies plants with the nutri-ents they actually need, thus preventing overfertilization.

The development of AI models in joint projects yields improved results because multiple companies contribute their data. The situation becomes critical, however, if a partner withdraws and requests the return of its data. With federated unlearning, Fraunhofer researchers and Fujitsu Research have developed a method for precisely removing data from decentralized AI models.

Women who have experienced a stroke or heart attack are at a higher risk of mortality than men. Fraunhofer researchers want to improve gender-specific aftercare with a customized assistance system – thus helping to prevent further heart disease.

Present systems do not monitor large PV plants on the module level. Yet that is exactly where faults occur, which affect the connection of several solar modules in series, that is, the complete string. Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF are developing a sensor system together with partners, which provides a detailed view down to the module level, thus detecting all kinds of anomalies, soiling and defects early.

Lithium, cobalt and nickel are in high demand – and they are hard to obtain. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM are developing an electrochemical process to recover scarce raw materials in battery recycling. This new technology could also enable the extraction of rare earth elements from electronic waste in the future.

The EPO Technology Dashboard 2025, released today, ranks the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft as Europe's leading research institution for patent applications. This ranking reaffirms the critical role of research and science for Germany's long-term competitiveness.

This year’s Hugo Geiger Prize for the best doctoral theses in applied research goes to three early-career researchers from Jena and Freiburg. Jointly awarded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy (StMWi) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the prize recognizes innovative solutions developed by doctoral researchers in close cooperation with a Fraunhofer institute.

AI plays a huge role in the semiconductor industry, both by facilitating more efficient development processes and as a target application in development work. This is why the Fraunhofer Heilbronn Research and Innovation Centers HNFIZ are adding the Chip AI research and innovation center for AI chip design to their service range. The center is funded via the Dieter Schwarz Foundation. The Chip AI research and innovation center relies on close cooperation with stakeholders of the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI).

With the gammaSTAR software platform and the SpinIt project, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS are facilitating the transfer of innovative imaging technologies into routine clinical use.

Artificial intelligence is set to provide optimum learning support for soldiers and increase teaching quality. Fraunhofer researchers have conducted a study to determine which AI functions would be useful in this context and how this technology could be integrated into the existing system.