Press Releases

Wood, we come into close contact with it daily. Children play around on wood floors, and wood furniture plays an important role in our work and sleep habits as well. To keep this natural material from aging prematurely, it’s important to protect it effectively against ultraviolet (UV) radiation. At the same time, people want to retain the look and feel of natural wooden surfaces, but the transparent protective coatings that are currently widely commercially available often contain harmful chemical compounds. To avoid using these substances, the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV and Naturhaus Naturfarben GmbH are working together to develop a formula that provides harmless, transparent and 100 percent organic UV protection for wood.

Working together to expedite technological innovations in the fields of battery cell and semiconductor technology: That is the aim of a comprehensive international collaboration program funded by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, with eight of its institutes, is their partner in Germany. On Wednesday, the collaboration was sealed with a letter of agreement and the opening of a coordination hub.

In an effort to further develop the portfolio of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in both subject-specific and commercial terms and ensure the research organization’s future viability, the executive board has adopted a package of measures involving the partial closure of the Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW and the elimination of the center’s independence. The remaining departments are to be integrated into the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI. In addition, the Fraunhofer Institute for Technological Trend Analysis INT is to be integrated into the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE. These decisions are subject to the approval of the senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.