Press Releases

Every year, some 5.6 million metric tons of plastic packaging winds up in household waste in Germany after being used just once. So far, less than a third of it can be recycled. Working in partnership with Hochschule Bremen — City University of Applied Sciences, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM aims to transform this waste into high-quality 3D-printed products.

Nuclear fusion is a source of great hope for future energy security, with this field being explored in research reactors around the world. Accurately detecting their performance requires measurement systems that supply valid data even under extreme conditions. And the centerpiece of those systems are the bolometers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM. Experts from the institute will be presenting their sophisticated sensors at the joint Fraunhofer booth (Hall 2, Booth B24) at this year’s Hannover Messe trade show from March 31 to April 4.

One attack, many responses — organizations use various solutions to ward off online attacks. The playbooks that outline countermeasures also vary in their specifics. In the CyberGuard project, Fraunhofer researchers are working on standardized playbooks to help companies optimize their security strategies and align them with each other. The playbooks are generated by large language models and support the automation of IT security.

Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI have developed a technology that makes it possible to reclaim continuous carbon fibers from composite materials — without diminishing material quality. High-power lasers are used for local degradation of the matrix of multi-layered fiber-reinforced plastics at high temperatures. This method offers not only ecological benefits but also considerable economic potential.

As part of a Fraunhofer flagship project, researchers are developing a digital ecosystem that collects data along the entire value chain for raw materials — with the goal of ensuring a sustainable and resilient supply. This makes it possible to reuse and recycle materials energy-efficiently and with as little loss as possible. At the Hannover Messe 2025, the research team will be presenting a demonstrator that showcases the many different options offered by this ecosystem.

To survive in global competition over the long term, companies have to be efficient, cost-effective and use resources wisely in their production operations. AI-based monitoring and control of production based on ECC4P offers medium-sized businesses customized solutions with comprehensive data security from a single source. The research team will be presenting their solutions at the joint Fraunhofer booth at this year’s Hannover Messe trade show.

In a landmark collaboration underscoring 60 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany, the Israel Innovation Authority and Germany's Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. have signed a joint declaration to advance technological innovation. This partnership aims to foster cooperation in key technological sectors, promoting joint research and development initiatives that will benefit both nations.

To unlock the potential of digital solutions for uses in healthcare, the solutions need to be suitable for real-world practice and fit seamlessly into existing processes and workflows. That is the only way they can ease the burden on healthcare workers. At the same time, the field needs trustworthy AI systems that ensure secure exchanges of sensitive health data — across different sectors, without data protection and privacy risks and with full control for patients. Eight Fraunhofer institutes will be jointly presenting solutions to these challenges at the DMEA 2025 trade show, held in Berlin from April 8 to 10, 2025. The researchers will be present at Booth D-109 in Hall 2.2, where they will use exhibits and demonstrators to provide exciting glimpses of the health IT of the future and will also be available to talk with attendees.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will be represented at the world’s largest industrial trade show with a joint booth (March 31–April 4, Hall 2, Booth B24). Fraunhofer institutes, groups and alliances will be showcasing 38 exhibits featuring technological highlights from the fields of production, energy, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation. The exhibits all reflect Fraunhofer's mission — to promote applied and demand-driven innovations that support the competitiveness of the industrial and business sectors.

Rapid developments in recent years have shown that companies must keep up with technology to remain competitive. In doing so, they need to implement the European AI Act as efficiently as possible while harnessing the new possibilities of AI to find innovative business models. At the Bitkom TRANSFORM conference on March 19 and 20, 2025, at STATION Berlin, seven Fraunhofer institutes under the umbrella of the Fraunhofer ICT Group will show how they can support companies with solutions in the fields of the internet of things, industrial metaverse and artificial intelligence.

If detected early, the prognosis for skin cancer is excellent. An innovative full-body scanner linked to an AI diagnostic platform is set to help with early detection of melanoma. In just six minutes, it automatically scans a patient’s entire body, providing a risk assessment for each anomalous change found in the skin. Twenty partners are working together to develop the diagnostic system as part of the EU-funded iToBoS project. To ensure that the AI they are using works reliably and safely, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, HHI are incorporating explainable AI (XAI) technologies into the AI tools used.

The European electricity supply system is currently in flux as a result of the energy transition. An increasing number of plants and systems are feeding into the decentralized power grid through power electronics. In the future, hybrid power grids will incorporate sections with alternating and direct current lines. The partners in the InterSCADA EU project are developing a modular SCADA platform intended to help grid operators throughout Europe to maintain system stability in increasingly hybrid AC/DC power grids. In this interview, Robin Patrick Williams, a research scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT, explains why a SCADA platform is necessary in order to automate future transmission and distribution grids. Williams and Prof. Antonello Monti, a group manager at Fraunhofer FIT, are jointly responsible for coordinating the project.

In the EcoHub research project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA have teamed up with partners to develop a service-oriented platform designed to collect and process sustainability data on a centralized basis. The platform makes it easier for manufacturing companies to draft environmental reports and apply for certification.

Applications such as self-driving vehicles, 6G mobile communications and quantum communications are pushing fiber optic networks to their limits. Fraunhofer researchers have joined forces with partners to devise clever ways to optimize data transmission. Optical switches with liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) mirrors shrink data packets down to size so the network can carry more data, while signals are distributed across different fiber strands to create more flexibility.

Fraunhofer researchers have developed sensor systems and measuring equipment that detect leaks in hydrogen lines and tanks. Applications for the new technology include continuous monitoring of hydrogen shipments and facilities in the chemical industry. The researchers use multiple sensor technologies to provide safety equipment covering as many scenarios of the future hydrogen economy as possible.

A delegation consisting of representatives from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and from Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) signed a strategic collaboration agreement in Munich today. Their groundbreaking collaboration aims to pool expertise, infrastructure and knowledge across individual research institutions to open up new paths for the commercialization of technology in industry and society.

On February 19, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy (StMWi) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft awarded the Hugo Geiger Prize for the best dissertations in applied research. Three next-generation researchers, one each from Freising, Munich and Aachen, were chosen as the winners for their innovative ideas and applied doctoral work completed in close collaboration with a Fraunhofer institute. The Fraunhofer Founder Award was also presented for a spin-off with an active, successful market presence.

A concrete solution for pressing challenges: In the CYCLOMETRIC project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO have devised a solution that allows companies to incorporate sustainability assessments and circular economy concepts into the early phases of development processes — right where there is the most leverage for ecofriendly design.

Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT have teamed up with project partners to develop an AI module to help with laser material deposition. This technique is used to repair worn bucket teeth and other tools used in mining. The project partners include research organizations and companies from Canada. The Fraunhofer researchers will be presenting their solution at the Hannover Messe Preview on February 19, 2025.

On February 17, 2025, Constantin Häfner will take up his new position as Fraunhofer’s executive vice president of Research and Transfer. The Fraunhofer senate elected him to the board at its meeting on June 12, 2024. The renowned laser physicist has been the executive director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen since 2019. With Häfner taking office, the executive board of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will be complete.