Flagship project

Due to crises such as the coronavirus pandemic or suspended trade agreements, supply bottlenecks occur time and again. Raw materials such as nickel, magnesium and rare earths, which industry needs to manufacture a wide range of products, are not always available - often for long periods of time. This is where “ORCHESTER,” a new flagship project of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, comes in: Since January 2024, six Fraunhofer Institutes have been researching how sustainable and resilient supplies can be designed and secured. The four-year interdisciplinary project aims to create the information basis for preserving materials and components in the highest possible quality and returning them to the supply cycle.

The ability to manufacture sustainable products plays a key role here: The basis for this are modern materials that are not only available as raw materials, but also need to be recycled in a high-quality form. Accompanied by a high-ranking advisory board from research and industry, the experts from the participating institutes are working together on an innovative initiative that addresses the challenges of the circular economy as well as security of supply − particularly in the context of the energy transition.

www.orchester.fraunhofer.de (fraunhofer.de)