3 2 | 3 Sovereignty from space 200 satellites to increase security Better plastics From environmental crime to biosynthetics Dr. Benedikt Hauer, Fraunhofer IPM Perilous pest New solutions for the fight against mosquitoes “We need even more research!” An interview with German Minister for the Environment Steffi Lemke

Excellence and diversity are in our DNA By Prof. Holger Hanselka Plastic is incredible. It has huge potential in terms of its power-to-weight ratio and allows us to carry out highly efficient processes. Thanks to its material diversity and practically unlimited possibilities, this malleable, light, durable substance has been enjoying its heyday since the mid-20th century. And in the process, it has created a global environmental problem: 5 billion tons of plastic garbage — the downside to the plastic boom. So should we denounce plastic? In a lot of public discourse, our society is currently leaning toward hysteria. We do not understand, we do not weigh up both sides of an argument and we rush to judgment. That is the point where we really need science and rationality in a very particular way. The cover story of this issue of the Fraunhofer magazine is all about the search for “good plastic.” As “the magazine for people shap- ing the future,” it introduces readers to the Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft researchers that are applying all their passion and excellence to transforming the positive properties of plastic with a view to sustainability. The solution? As is so often the case in situations with complex requirements, there is no single solution. Our teams of researchers are using biobased materials to develop a wide range of solutions such as fiber-reinforced plastics and energy-efficient circular systems with as little material loss as possible. An openness to using new tech- nologies is fundamental here — for Fraunhofer itself, but also for a high-tech, scientific country like Germany. I am delighted that the German Federal Minister for the Envi- ronment, Steffi Lemke, also talked about being open to new technologies in an interview in this edition of the Fraunhofer magazine. “It goes without saying,” as she puts it, that this approach will lead us to adopt technologies that achieve our goals in the most economical way possible. “Without independent research and research institutions like the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft,” Ms. Lemke says in her interview, “knowledge- and fact-based policy-making would be impossible.” And the German Federal Minister for the Environment gives a clear answer to the question on how scientific solutions can be implemented more quickly: “Through direct dialogue, for example.” s n e g r ü J s u k r a M / r e f o h n u a r F : o t o h P 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Editorial Prof. Holger Hanselka As the new president of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, of course I would be glad to engage with this discourse at any time. It is up to politicians to set objectives, just as it is up to politicians to give researchers the framework they need to find solutions to achieve these objectives. It should not and cannot be up to politicians to dictate every little detail of how we will achieve those goals. Putting blinkers on researchers benefits no one. We do not need bottlenecks that restrict us. We need to turn the funnel upside down so that thought, research and the search for solutions can be extended in every direction. Germany has always managed to develop incredible ideas. This country can be proud of that. Our Fraunhofer-Gesell- schaft can be proud too — with 30,800 employees in 76 institutes and research units, we have been playing a reliable role in the German scientific scene for almost 75 years. Diversity is our DNA, and it is with and through this mindset that we are creating new opportunities for Germany and Europe. Let us work together to achieve this. Sincerely, Prof. Holger Hanselka President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft back to page 1 3

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine 32 Tapping into a new lithium source Deep geothermal systems can serve as an environmentally friend- ly source for heat — and lithium 35 Knowledge relay, episode 9 Prof. Manfred Renner, when will bioplastics be able to completely replace plastics made from petroleum? 52 A voice from the business world Martin Daum, CEO, Daimler Truck AG 54 A vicious visitor Climate change is allowing mosqui- toes to bring tropical viruses into Germany more and more frequent- ly. Researchers are getting ready 56 A targeted off-switch A new technology will detect virus carriers at an early stage and eliminate them without harming the environment 58 From invention to innovation Germany’s healthcare transition will only achieve long-term success through cost-intelligent solutions from the research sector 86 The coffee of tomorrow Researchers believe Germany’s favorite drink could taste quite different in the future. 80 Interoperability: a prerequisite for success Communications are being stretched to the limits during international military exercises. Mandatory standards will reduce the strain. 62 Prize winners Dr. Matthias Beier of SPACEOPTIX GmbH and Dr. Henrik von Lukowicz of Fraunhofer IOF (right) are aiming high with their new satellite technologies. 61 Rip-off or real? 82 Photo & Fraunhofer How consumers can use their smartphones to identify counterfeit products Researchers focus on paludiculture: Moors could help save the climate, so long as farmers are on board 62 Research prizes 86 A nice, hot cup of hope Award-winning ideas for the future: Impressive achievements by Fraunhofer employees 70 On the bright side The energy transition requires smart integration of the electricity, heat and mobility sectors — including in residential districts 74 The new black gold How biochar can help to reduce the harvest losses caused by climate change in the future 76 Successfully combating internet manipulation Real or fake? An innovative analysis tool makes it possible to reliably detect propaganda campaigns 78 Fraunhofer worldwide back to page 1 The search for coffee plants that can survive climate change is on 87 Fraunhofer on the road According to the UCS Satellite Database, there are currently 6,718 satellites in orbit. A good 50 percent of these belong to SpaceX’s Starlink network, meaning that the private American enterprise operates the largest satellite fleet in space. Europe is striving to achieve more independence from Elon Musk in its communications — and Fraunhofer is providing the necessary solutions (from p. 38). 50 f i a l / r e g ö r K s a m o h T n a f e t S , b u a r t S s a m o h T , n e g a h s r a H e d l i H : s o t o h p r e v o c k c a b d n a t n o r F a p d / l e o m s A a r g e S i , i k s w o r e z c n a B r t o P / r e f o h n u a r F i , f i a l / e n i z a g a M o r a g i F e L / n i t r a M b u a r t S s a m o h T , , M U S I V / s s e n o B n a f e t S , n e g a h s r a H e d l i H : s o t o h p t n e t n o C 5

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Intelligent automated remanufacturing In the Desire4Electronics project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA is working together with ten partners on automated disassembly processes for remanufacturing small electronic devices. Machine learning techniques are used to rapidly recognize types of devices and joining methods and assess them with the help of images and process data. This provides a basis for researchers to develop multi-tools that can easily release various connections when dismantling small electronic devices. The aim of developing automated dismantling methods is to establish remanufacturing processes in industrial countries and make remanufacturing profitable — this will contribute to greater sustainability in terms of production and consumption. Each year, Germany generates a per capita average of 19.4 kilo- grams of scrap electronics — and this figure is rising. Small electronic devices like toasters, hairdryers, robot vacuum clean- ers and robotic mowers in particular are made up of multiple components containing valuable substances such as copper, polymers and lithium; these products are still functional and could be remanufactured. This process is currently very time-con- suming and expensive. This process, which is usually performed manually, is very time-consuming and expensive, making auto- mated dismantling a key contributor to the circular economy. TVs, smartphones and other electronic devices often end up in the trash, even though remanufacturing would give them a new cycle of use. Better organization of voluntary support f e i l e R l a c i n h c e T r o f y c n e g A l a r e d e F / t h c e r r a G a n i r a h t a K , s e g a m i s u i t i r u a m / 1 6 d n e t s e W / t l e p s E n o m a R , k c o t S e b o d A / o l j i a h M a n b A l i An interdisciplinary team that includes the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS is developing an app to coor- dinate the deployment of volunteer helpers in disaster situations. KatHelfer-PRO contacts volunteers as quickly as possible and assigns them tasks based on their skills and availability. In the case of a crisis or disaster, the system uses a special placement algo- rithm to automatically match supply and demand. This takes account of factors such as maximum working hours and rest periods, capacity in areas of deployment and traveling time. KatHelfer-PRO provides helpers with precise information about the type and location of their deployment, along with any accompanying details. To avoid inconsis- tent, technically incompatible local solutions, the team is working on a nationwide digital system that can be flexibly integrated into other systems. back to page 1 7 , z l o h h c u B t r e b r o N : s o t o h P When the chips are down, professionals need the support of volunteers.

Editorial notes Fraunhofer. The magazine for research, technology and innovation ISSN 1868-3428 (print edition) ISSN 1868-3436 (online edition) Published by: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Hansastrasse 27c, 80686 Munich, Germany Editorial address as above Phone +49 89 1205-1301 magazin@zv.fraunhofer.de https://s.fhg.de/magazine-en Free subscription: Phone +49 89 1205-1301 publikationen@fraunhofer.de Editorial team: Roman Möhlmann (responsible for con- tent), Josef Oskar Seitz (editor-in-chief), Dr. Sonja Endres, Beate Strobel Editorial assistants: Dr. Janine van Ackeren, Mandy Bartel, Kerstin Beckert, Vivian Ellermeyer, Sirka Henning, Andrea Kaufmann, Stefanie Smuda, Mehmet Toprak, Yvonne Weiß Layout and lithography: Vierthaler & Braun Cover image and cover story photography: Hilde Harshagen Space photography: Thomas Straub Printed by: Kolibri Druck, Nuremberg © Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft e.V. Munich 2023 Find Fraunhofer on social media: @Fraunhofer www.facebook.com/ fraunhoferde www.instagram.com/ fraunhofergesellschaft www.linkedin.com/company/ fraunhofer-gesellschaft www.youtube.com/ fraunhofer 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine A second chance for cacao The fruits of the cacao tree are vulnerable to pests. To reduce crop losses, Fraunhofer researchers are seeking out opportunities to make use of damaged beans. E very year, some 20 percent of the worldwide cacao harvest falls victim to harmful fungi, viruses or bacteria. Diseased fruit is either dis- posed of by the cacao farmers or mixed into healthy fruit, which reduces the quality of the cacao and the chocolate made from it. The Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV has joined a German-Brazilian consortium to find alternative uses for these supposed rejects. The Damaged Beans project is pri- marily targeting the cosmetics industry. Fungal diseases alter the melting prop- erties of cocoa butter, which is also used in personal care products. It softens at room and body temperature. While this is not ideal for chocolate production, it is an advantage in cosmetic applications. Changes in the composition of amino acids and proteins in damaged cacao beans also enhance their gelling and thickening properties, so these fruits could replace environmentally dam- aging acrylates in cosmetic products, for example. The cacao tree reacts to microbial attacks by generating more secondary plant materials with anti- oxidant and antimicrobial properties, which can in turn boost the stability and shelf life of creams, shampoos and similar products. This project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, aims not only to save dam- aged cacao beans from the trash, but also to improve the circumstances of cacao farmers worldwide by providing opportunities for new applications. It will also broaden the portfolio of sus- tainable ingredients used in the cosmetic industry at the same time — a win-win- win all along the value chain. The best cacao beans are used to make chocolate. But the rest can be put to other clever uses. back to page 1 9 k c o t S e b o d A , k c o t S e b o d A / a n d u Y a n a i l t e v S , i g r u b e r F t d a t S / r e g e e S k c i r t a P : s o t o h P

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Better with plastic Plastic has gone from being a valuable material to a trash problem. But as we can’t go without it, researchers are pulling out all the stops to make this multi-purpose material more sustainable. By Beate Strobel, Photography: Hilde Harshagen Fascinated by plastic and its possibilities: Andreas Keller, Fraunhofer IZFP. back to page 1 11

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine “It’s vital that we develop techniques to help make the production and use of plastic more sustainable.” Prof. Sebastian Scholz, Fraunhofer IWU Prof. Sebastian Scholz, director of the Plastics Technology Center Oberlausitz at Fraunhofer IWU is researching how using natural materials in plastics might make them more sustainable. back to page 1 13

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Engineering and Packaging IVV and head of its Dresden location. This rather inelegant term refers to the relation- ship between the mass of the packaging material and the goods it protects. Some plastics and plastic composites have excellent barrier properties, reduce energy and transportation costs and allow for highly efficient pro- cesses — and their huge variety of design options keeps both designers and marketers happy. Across the world, far too many food products go bad before they reach the market — but without protective plastic packaging, this issue would be much worse. enormous appetite for plastic, they would no longer be used for food. Plastics can never be allowed to compete with food. In the EnviroPlast project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Plastics Technology Center Oberlausitz are investigating the use of fibrous residual materials, such as straw, waste wood from lumber mills and other organic waste, as fillers. “We are experimenting with materials and playing with processes to develop plastics where over 50 percent of the fillers consist of residual materials,” Prof. Scholz explains. “That will decrease production costs, increase the level of sustainability in manufacturing — and capture CO2 for many years, as these components are generally in use for decades.” At the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF in Darmstadt, Dr. Roland Klein is working on the DuroBast project together with partners from science and industry to find a wider range of application areas for bast fibers in NFRCs. “With NFRCs, there is a risk that they will be saturated with moisture from the environment if the component becomes damaged, for example. Not only can this degrade the mechan- ical properties, but it could also encourage the growth of microbes,” explains Dr. Klein. In order to coun- teract this absorption of moisture, the research team at Fraunhofer LBF uses a type of pretreatment process to fill in the spaces between the fibers with a biobased plastic. It is only in the second step that the project partners combine the reinforcing material with molten thermoplastic and press it into a moldable semi-finished product. Initial tests have shown that the fiber pretreatment process results in a more robust prod- uct. “Improving the mechanical properties of this NFRC means that we will ultimately need less material,” Dr. Klein says optimistically. This would also decrease the ecological footprint involved. The issue of materials is particularly important when it comes to plastic products that are only used for a brief time. Making a change in this area could have an enormous impact: Around one third of the plastic used in Germany is in packaging. Plastic has become estab- lished in the packaging sector as the material with the best power-to-weight ratio, explains Prof. Jens-Peter Majschak, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Plastic packaging is more than just a wrapper, explains chemist Dr. Cornelia Stramm, who heads up the Materials Development department at Fraunhofer IVV in Freising. Across the world, many harvested food products go bad before they reach the market — but without protective plastic packag- ing, this issue would be much worse. Dr. Stramm even has a good argu- ment for the much-criticized prac- tice of shrink-wrapping cucumbers in plastic film, despite their natural packaging: If these vegetables had to make the journey from some- where like Spain without a plastic wrapper, they would be wrinkled by the time they reached their des- tination. When packaged in plastic film, they stay fresh for five times longer. “Anyone who feels annoyed about fruit and vegetables being packaged should avoid imported goods and just buy seasonal and regionally produced products instead,” says Dr. Stramm. As consumers’ environmental consciousness has evolved, more and more producers have come to Fraunhofer IVV with requests for help in developing more sustainable pack- aging materials. Institute director Prof. Majschak has been seeing a “huge wave of exploration” when it comes to sustainable raw materials such as leaves, grass, mushrooms and algae. For example, researchers at Fraunhofer UMSICHT are currently working on developing foamed packaging made from the biobased raw material starch; from 2025, this is set to replace polystyrene, polyethylene and polyurethane, the common variants of today. In the EU project GLOPACK, 16 European project partners (including Fraunhofer IVV) have developed solutions that allow residual material from fruit, maize and wheat straw processing to be made into biopolymer trays and films that can be composted after use. And in the PLA4MAP research project, scientists are finetuning the idea of manufacturing a tray and a sealing film made from the biobased plastic polylactic acid (PLA). With coatings back to page 1 15

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Smarter sorting Consumers can do their part from home to increase the material recycling rates for plastics and other packaging. What are recyclable materials? Packaging such as plastic, tin, aluminum and composite packaging (e.g., Tetra Paks). Instead of being thrown out with the rest of the trash, they should be disposed of in a way that allows them to be recycled. This is usually done in household recycling collections or special recycling dumpsters. The Green Dot is outdated: The rule that only packaging with Repak’s Green Dot can go in recycling collections is a thing of the past. Since 2009, Germans have been allowed to put all their plastic, metal and composite packaging in the recycling. In fact, they can put everything made from plastic or metal in there — not just packaging. There’s just one exception: electronic devices. Homework: To make the sorting plant’s work easier, take the packaging apart at home, insofar as this is possible and reason- able. Remove bands made from paper or plastic, separate aluminum lids from plastic cups and take the hard plastic lids off PET bottles or Tetra Paks. In the case of cheese or meat packaging or fruit punnets made of plastic, remove the lids entirely and dispose of them separately. Leave it loose: Don’t stack pieces of packag- ing inside each other, because the sorting system will only recognize the type of plastic on the outside. Likewise, don’t stuff any plas- tic or other recyclable materials into empty cans and throw them out that way. Cleaning solution: Remove any food residue from the packaging (scrape it clean). There’s no need to actually rinse out the packaging or even go as far as washing it with hot water and dish soap. back to page 1 17 Rethinking plastic: Dr. Stephan Kabasci of Fraunhofer UMSICHT is searching for bioplastics that are fit for purpose.

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine “In the RE-USE project, we want to cover pure plastics with a coating such as silicon oxide or aluminum oxide, which acts as a diffusion barrier.” Dr. Benedikt Hauer, Fraunhofer IPM In the RE-USE project, Friederike Münch and Dr. Benedikt Hauer (both from Fraunhofer IPM) are using smarter quality control to increase recycling rates. back to page 1 19

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine In KOSEL, researchers have developed an open-source, recycling-oriented modular system for an e-vehicle platform, built from particularly durable plastic compo- nents. The main modules for the front end, battery box and rear end are connected using fixed interfaces, so individual elements or complete vehicle components can quickly be switched out. “Design for reuse, repair and recycling: Our very manufac- turing processes need to be adapted to fit the concept of a circular economy.” Susanne Kroll, Fraunhofer IWU this packaging is made from plastic composite materials, which provide a reliable barrier that is good for protecting food. Unfortunately, material combinations like these can no longer be broken down into pure polymers, which is necessary for recycling,” explains project manager Dr. Benedikt Hauer of the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM. “In the RE-USE project, we want to cover pure plastics — preferably ones made from recycled material — with a coating such as silicon oxide or aluminum oxide, which acts as a diffusion bar- rier.” This coating is only a few nanometers thick, explains Friederike Münch, mechanical engineer and research scientist at Fraunhofer IPM: “That’s ten thousand times thinner than a human hair. The benefit here is that the plastic can be recycled like a mono-material, as the contamina- tion caused by this barrier layer will be restricted to the per mille range or even lower.” To ensure that this “superbar- rier” is not only ultra-thin but also covers the plastic to a sufficient level in its entirety, the team at Fraun- hofer IPM has developed an optical sensor that detects the coating and can therefore perform quality con- trol during production. “By using infrared reflectometry, not only can we see which coating material has been applied, but also how thick the layer is,” explains physicist Dr. Hauer. “The challenge now is to scale this technology so it can also be reliably, quickly and inexpensively used on a large scale,” explains Ms. Münch. Once that has been achieved, the project manager Dr. Hauer can envision a wide range of applications for this measuring technique — such as the production of films for packaging and food containers, and blister packaging in the pharmaceutical industry. Thin coatings, especially of silicon oxide, are also frequently used to optimize physical and chemical surface properties. The new measuring technique can also be used for quality control during production for these coatings. In project KOSEL, Fraunhofer IWU has demonstrated how the “design for recycling” principle can be applied to automotive manufacturing. “The basic idea was to develop a vehicle platform where components could easily be swapped in and out,” explains Dr. Martin Mausch, head of department for Systems and Technologies for Textile Structures. “That’s been standard for a long time when it comes to airplanes, trains and trams — passenger airplanes are converted to cargo airplanes, for example.” “Approaches like KOSEL are made for the vehicles of tomorrow,” says Ms. Kroll. But are there short-term solu- tions too? In the Dig-CirclE project, which Fraunhofer IWU is involved in, researchers are using digitalization and automation to analyze and evaluate high-performance fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) com- posites from sectors such as the automotive and aviation industries. These plastics are then sent for reuse, repair or recycling, depending on their condition. To make reusing plastic a more financially attractive option, the researchers are also developing efficient repair and recycling processes. “Currently,” says Ms. Kroll, “recycled materials are often much more expensive than new materials.” However, the costs can be decreased through the use of AI-driven diagnostics systems, for example — these can automat- ically analyze the plastic structures and manage later processes such as recycling. Artificial intelligence will be a game changer in the recycling process: This is the focus of the AI Hub Plastic Packaging project, a collaboration between the KIOp- tiPack and K3I-Cycling innovation labs that involves 51 partners from industry, science and civil society. The KIOptiPack team is developing AI-driven tools for designing sustainable products and manufacturing high-quality plastic packaging with a large proportion of recycled material; meanwhile, K3I-Cycling is working to optimize the material recycling process for packaging. K3I-Cycling is focusing on sorting waste material flows — how thoroughly and precisely can we separate out diverse types of plastics so that they can be fed into single-material recycling flows as far as possible? These days, large sorting plants are using near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral cameras. “Plastics absorb and diffuse light in different ways,” explains Andreas Keller, a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing IZFP. “So that acts like a fingerprint for each type of plastic, which NIR hyperspectral cameras can identify within back to page 1 21

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine “Plastics absorb and diffuse light in different ways.” Andreas Keller, Fraunhofer IZFP Smarter sorting: Andreas Keller of Fraunhofer IZFP is working to improve recycling rates with the help of AI. back to page 1 23

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine 150 million tons of plastic in our oceans The largest concentrations of plastic have accumulated in the five huge garbage islands in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is almost five times larger than Germany. However, according to the German Environment Agency, about 70 percent of the plastic trash in the oceans is under the surface of the water. Source: WWF We ingest 5 grams of microplastic per week According to a study by the WWF, the average person worldwide ingests 5 grams of microplastic per week via their food, tap water and the air we breathe. That is approximately equal to the weight of a credit card. K N A T I C B S A L P . y n a m r e G d n a n a p a J , A S U e h t - h t r u o f e h t s e m o c e b a n h C i r e t f a l , c i t s a p f o r e c u d o r p t s e g r a l 5 9 9 1 e h t , s r e t e m c i b u c n o i l l i m 5 2 1 t A . l e e t s s e k a t r e v o c i t s a p f o e s u l t a s d n a t s n o i t c u d o r p c i t s a P l . r a e y r e p s n o t n o i l l i m 0 0 4 5 1 0 2 l y b d e c u d e r e b d u o c t n e m n o r i v n e e h t n i l e t s a w c i t s a p f o t n u o m a e h t , y d u t s N U a o t g n d r o c c A i f o e s u r u o g n i c u d e r s a h c u s s n a e m h g u o r h t — 0 4 0 2 y b t n e c r e p 0 8 3 2 0 2 7 6 4 8 5 7 7 7 4 3 1 2 3 8 7 4 - a n r e t l a g n i s u , g n i l c y c e r , s c i t s a p l d n a s l a l i r e t a m e b a t s o p m o c e v i t . y l l e f a s c i t s a p f o g n i s o p s i d Plastic bottle: 450 years Time taken to break down in the ocean* Fishing line: 600 years Time taken to break down in the ocean* 3 8 9 1 1 billion elephants Between the 1950s, when plastic was invented, and the year 2015, around 8.3 billion tons of plastic were produced worldwide. That’s equivalent to the weight of a billion elephants. Source: University of Georgia back to page 1 . V . l e d n a h c s t u e D d n u b - z t u h c s r u t a N — U B A N : e c r u o S * r e y e m r e l l E n a i v i V : m a r g a D i 25

Fraunhofer magazine 3 | 23 Interview “We need even more research!” The climate, droughts, crimes against nature: Steffi Lemke has plenty to deal with. In an interview, the German Federal minister for the environment advocates for true openness toward new technologies. And she reveals how she gets by with little plastic in her own life. Interview: Josef Oskar Seitz Minister Steffi Lemke, 55, woman of the house and boss to more than 1,200 employees in the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection on Stresemann- strasse in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. 28

Fraunhofer magazine 3 | 23 A career in politics at 26 Steffi Lemke became a member of the German parliament in 1994. Before going into politics, she trained as a zoo technician and worked as a mail carrier from 1986 to 1988. She did her high school diploma exams through night school and in 1993, she graduated with a degree in agricultural engineer- ing (specializing in livestock farming). Arm in arm At the closing of the 2005 election party conference, foreign minister Joschka Fischer seeks to rub shoulders with the then general secretary. The election ends with defeat for the red-green alliance — Angela Merkel’s era begins. New hope The 2009 election campaign: Steffi Lemke leads the campaign for Alliance 90/The Greens. Her party gains 2.6 percent. Merkel remains chancellor. 30 What obstacles do you foresee at an international level? Working toward a global agreement against plastic waste comes with many challenges: There are over 1,650 participants involved from 169 countries and the EU, as well as 300 monitoring organizations, and the deadline that was set is very tight — just in terms of the formalities involved, a negotiation process of this scale is extremely difficult. I’m very pleased that the negotiating committee in the second negotiating session (INC-2) in Paris showed they can reach collective agreements together on this subject. Some sticking points are expected, including the extent to which the individual measures of the agreement are binding, the interpretation and enforcement of the expanded responsibilities for manufacturers, the question of possibly restricting plastic production and the question of financing. Which measures are the most urgent? Our oceans are crucially important to our climate system. They’re areas of phenomenal biodiversity, they’re food sources and yet they are currently hugely polluted with plastic waste. One of the main issues here is the unsus- tainable use of packaging materials with short life cycles that get into the oceans via rivers. The international agreement on reducing the plastic problem must serve as a worldwide tool for solving countless challenges. Specifically, I believe it’s crucial to have strict obligations across the world that apply to all countries. When it comes to sustainable production and consumption, product design and increasing circularity, for example, the required measures should be put in place at the start and middle of the life cycle. What’s more, we need to build up the global capacities that a true circular economy will require. For example, corpora- tions that operate internationally and sell their products in plastic packaging worldwide must be brought to task a great deal more. They need to ensure their packaging doesn’t end up in the ocean after use. Numerous Fraunhofer teams are working to make plastics usable for longer, improve recycling systems and develop new biobased alternative materials. In what areas can this research support your work? We need even more research to make our overall approach to plastic more sustainable. Biobased alternatives must not come at the cost of food production or biodiversity. That’s why I believe we should focus on potentially using by-products from agriculture that can’t be used for any other high-value purposes. When it comes to recycling, I believe there is potential for optimization in the areas of recyclate quality, tracing and sorting technologies, and evaluating alternative methods. I also think a great deal of research is required around the much-discussed issue of chemical decomposi- tion processes — both in regard to technologies and how we evaluate efficiency, and in terms of the energy footprint and the quantities of pollution generated. How can politicians and researchers collaborate so that scientific solutions are put into practice more quickly? Through direct dialogue, for example. Without independent research by universities, higher education institutes and research institutes like the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, knowledge- and fact-based policymaking would be completely impossible. I can’t praise researchers and scien- tists highly enough for their accomplishments. We would be well-advised to harness their work and consider it in our own policy-making. How do you feel about the idea of openness to new technologies? Do you think it’s a fig leaf being used to protect the industry, or is it actually the way we will solve future issues? I don’t have anything against the concept. Unfortunately, people often misuse this phrase to bring technologies into the debate that are obsolete, expensive, inefficient or won’t be affordable in the foreseeable future — with the aim of keeping those technologies alive. That’s often not in the best interest of our citizens, and yet is sold as supposed freedom. If properly understood, this concept would help create a situation where the technologies that prevail were those that best help us achieve our climate protection targets, while also allowing for max- imum financial viability and not triggering any other environmental issues. This means that truly being open to new technologies requires us to take a reality check and do a serious tech- nology impact assessment. It’s been a long time since anything other than the climate and the war made the headlines: Do you feel that there’s a lack of attention for the other environmental issues?

“I can’t praise researchers highly enough for their accomplishments. We would be well-advised to harness their work.” Not at all. After all, the world is much more complicated than some exaggerated comments in the debate might suggest. The climate crisis is putting our ecosystems at risk. At the same time, these ecosystems can make a huge contri- bution to solving the issue, as a form of natural climate protection. And unfortunately, the war in Ukraine is causing massive environmental pollution that the people there are feeling already: contaminated soil, air pollution, water contamination due to events such as the Kakhovka dam blast. And there’s the danger of nuclear catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant hanging over everything. The problems are enormous, and the German Federal Ministry for the Environ- ment has one of the smallest budgets at 2.4 billion euros. Is the German minister of finance Christian Lindner saving money in the wrong places? The basic budget for the German Federal Ministry for the Environment is one of the few that has remained at an almost constant level. That’s a good sign, as cutbacks are being made everywhere else — often dramatic ones. And our plan for natural climate protection is in line to receive more money than ever before, with 4 billion euros in financing set to come from the Climate and Transformation fund by 2026. German minister for the environment Steffi Lemke Natural climate protection constitutes your biggest project. The first measures will be put in place this summer. What’s happening there? In mid-July, we launched the first funding guidelines for natural climate protection in rural regions and in companies. With these guidelines, we’re reaching a range of important stakeholders that can help restore and better preserve nature’s own climate protection func- tions. Other funding guidelines will be added in the coming months on capturing and storing CO2 in peat lands, floodplains and forests. Apart from that, in October, a competence center for natural climate protection will be launched to help quickly and effectively implement the funding initiatives laid out in the Action Plan on Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Biodiversity across the board. You previously worked as a mail carrier. Who would you like to write a few personal words to today, if you could drop them a line? I’m delighted that I receive so many letters from schoolchildren in my role as minister for the environment — they have very specific questions about protecting the environment and nature, but also suggest solutions. Unfor- tunately, I often just don’t have enough time to answer them in detail and exchange ideas. 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Another attempt Steffi Lemke watches the candidate nominations. In 2013, the Greens lose 2.3 percent in the federal elections with Katrin Göring-Eckardt and Jürgen Trittin. Merkel stays in power. Onward and upward Finally: on December 8, 2021, Bundestag president Bärbel Bas swears in Lemke as the new minister for the environment. An in-depth look The minister for the environment goes underground in May to learn more about the state of the Asse nuclear waste storage facility in Lower Saxony. Getting an overview Before the Oder Conference in June, Steffi Lemke examines the ecosystem from an observation tower. One year previously, there was a mass die-off of fish along the river. back to page 1 31 ) 3 ( a p d e l l a / l u e l P k c i r t a P , e t l u h c s n e t a r t S n a i l u J , s s e r p o t o F - r e l s i e G / n r e K c i r e d e r F , s e g a m i p d d / k l a h c s t t o G l e a h c i M , s s e r p n o i t c a / t d m h c S i l e x A , n i l r e B m a e T d l i b / s o t n e i r r a B . H , ) 2 ( M U S I V / s s e n o B n a f e t S : s o t o h P

D eep geothermal systems seem like some- thing of a magical panacea for our cli- mate-conscious age. Their most attractive feature is their potential for generating green electricity and heat, even to the point of serving as an alternative to heat pumps. The systems bore down to depths of thousands of meters to tap into saline aqui- fers with a temperature of around 80 degrees; this hot groundwater is then transported to the surface, where it powers electricity generation turbines and supplies many households with heating via district heating networks. But the benefits of geothermal systems don’t stop there: The boreholes also represent a new avenue for extracting lithium resources — in Germany, without harming the environment and with very little extra effort. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM in Freiburg and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have teamed up to prove that this goal is technically feasible. “The salty water that gets pumped to the Earth’s surface through geothermal boreholes contains around 200 milligrams of lithium per liter,” explains Dr. Carl Basler, a project manager at Fraunhofer IPM. “In other words, one borehole should be able to deliver enough lithium for around 20,000 car batteries every year — and that more or less as a side product. In the Upper Rhine Valley alone, it would be possible to set up ten of these facilities.” Lithium-ion batteries are used on a mass scale in many modern products, ranging from electric cars to smartphones and tablets. These batteries could also play an important role when it comes to electrifying applications during the heating transition — i.e., heat pumps — by serving as storage for the electricity produced by photo- voltaic systems. However, as lithium has yet to be mined in Germany, the country is entirely dependent on imports, leaving it vulnerable to all the pitfalls associated with such international relationships. A domestic source of lithium could significantly reduce the pressure in this area. Researchers at KIT are working to develop the tech- nology required to extract lithium from the water that is pumped to the surface. To do this, they feed the ground- water through a sorbent, i.e., a material that specifically s e g a m i o g a m i / m u g r a / r e l l e H k l a F : o t o h P “One borehole should be able to deliver enough lithium for around 20,000 car batteries every year — and that more or less as a side product.” Dr. Carl Basler, Fraunhofer IPM 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine binds the lithium salt, while allowing all the other salts that are dissolved in the water to flow on through unim- peded. If all the binding sites in the sorbent material are occupied, then the sorbent is saturated with lithium, and the team can disconnect it from the borehole water sup- ply and send a desorption solution through instead. This redissolves the bound lithium, which can then be pre- cipitated out of the solution by means of standard processes. The KIT researchers are currently focusing their energies on developing the optimal sorbent material. Analysis process supports lithium extraction One important question that crops up in the course of this mode of lithium extraction is: when does the sorbent material reach saturation? After all, the lithium content in the groundwater varies from borehole to borehole, and once the sorbent is saturated, the water will flow on through, taking its dissolved lithium with it. Until now, it has only been possible to answer this question by means of lab-based analysis processes that take around half a day to complete. This is obviously far too long for adaptive control, but fortunately, Fraunhofer IPM has the necessary expertise to speed things up. “We are developing a process that can be used to measure the water’s lithium concentration at the outlet from the sorbent in real-time — which allows for extremely rapid feed- back cycles. If the concentration increases, then the sorbent mate- rial’s saturation levels are rising, meaning it needs to be cleaned out,” explains Dr. Basler. For this process, the research- ers use laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, which involves focusing short laser pulses (lasting around 10 nanoseconds each) on the water’s surface through a lens. This applies so much energy to the water that some of it forms a plasma — i.e., a gas that no longer consists of atoms or molecules like a normal gas, but rather of ions and electrons — because the laser’s high energy ejects the electrons out of the atoms. If the ions capture the electrons again, they emit a character- istic radiation in the process, which allows scientists to extrapolate the type of the atom in question. The research- ers can then analyze the spectrum to identify and quan- tify the elements dissolved in the water. “Based on the back to page 1 33

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Knowledge relay replace petroleum? back to page 1 35

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Knowledge relay Prof. Manfred Renner, when will bioplastics be able to completely replace plastics made from petroleum? back to page 1 35

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine an increase by a factor of two to a factor of four — and greenhouse gas emissions will increase proportionally. as long as possible. Waste plastic should be recycled to make quality products to the greatest extent possible. The following measures for counteract- ing this trend are under discussion: 1. Using renewable energy in plastics production and processing 2. Reducing the increase in material con- sumption 3. Switching to biobased plastics 4. Recycling plastic waste Scenario analyses have shown that each of these measures will curb the increase in greenhouse gas emissions to some extent. But the only way to reduce emissions is to put all four options into practice at the same time, as quickly as possible. Just switching over to biomass as a raw mate- rial supply for plastics production would not work on its own. At the same time, we need to consistently apply the R-strat- egies for the circular economy to plastic products as a matter of priority. This starts with the “refuse,” rethink” and “reuse” strategies, which reduce the amount of plastic required by avoiding plastic, redesigning products and services, and adopting business models based on using plastic recyclates — without forgoing any functionalities of the material or products. Methods that reduce the amount of plas- tic waste we produce include repairing, recycling and other strategies that allow products and components to be used for However, even with a recycling rate of 100 percent, increasing overall demand for material and the fact that some plastic products remain in use for decades — such as construction materials — mean we always need fresh raw materials. In the circular plastics economy, the plan is that these materials will no longer come from fossil sources. In the near future, estab- lished production pathways for biobased plastics could be expanded to serve as a supply for these materials and allow us to eliminate fossil sources. However, for this to happen, noticeable improvements must be made to their financial viability by consistently including external costs (particularly those arising due to the cli- mate crisis) in the material price. In addi- tion, we need to further promote techno- logical advancement in bioplastics. The recyclability of these bioplastics can be optimized through innovations in the area of advanced recycling technologies. The advantageous properties of some bioplas- tics could help support this process. Using recycled materials is an essential factor in successfully establishing a biobased cir- cular economy. This means biobased plastics offer enormous potential for the solution we need to make our world more sustainable. Once the energy supply has been largely converted to renewable, cli- This means biobased plastics offer enormous potential for the solution we need to make our world more sustainable. Prof. Manfred Renner heads up Fraunhofer UMSICHT along with Prof. Christian Doetsch. mate-friendly technologies, it may also be possible to establish process chains based on carbon dioxide. This could then further decrease the biomass needed for plastics production — thus avoiding conflicts with other important biomass utilization path- ways when it comes to accessing sustain- able biomass, which is also likely to be in limited supply. However long it takes to transform the plastics industry, we will need more tech- nological innovations and new business models in the years to come. We at Fraun- hofer UMSICHT and in the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy are working tirelessly with our partners to make these developments a reality. In the next issue: What is more important when it comes to food supplies: sustain- ability or security and quality? back to page 1 37 i i g n n n e H e k M / T H C I S M U r e f o h n u a r F : s : o o t t o o h h P P

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Looking into the distance: Dr. Nadya Ben Bekhti- Winkel and Dr. Lars Fuhrmann on TIRA, the space observation radar in Wachtberg. In 15 seconds, the 240 ton antenna can make a complete turn on its axis and track satellites at a distance of 1,000 kilo- meters to provide high-resolution images of them. back to page 1 39

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine “Onboard processors allow the signals to be processed directly within the satellite. So the satellites themselves become intelligent network components that can control data streams as needed.” Rainer Wansch, Fraunhofer IIS back to page 1 41

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine I t began with the internet in Ukraine. When the network collapsed under the force of Russian attacks, nationwide digital com- munication was restored with the help of a private satellite network. In Europe, relief over US entre- preneur Elon Musk quickly providing help via Starlink soon changed to unease: It seemed no European state was in a position to support Ukraine with this strategically important issue. The war highlighted two problems: How vulnerable terrestrial infrastructure is without backup from space, and how dependent Europe is on third parties when it comes to space technologies and satellite-sup- ported communication. The EU now wants to change this. By 2027, a constel- lation of up to 200 satellites should guarantee Europe’s sovereignty in space and, by extension, on the ground. IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is a large-scale project aimed at not only securely networking critical infrastructures and creating resilient crisis management methods for governments, but also ensuring comprehensive broadband connectivity across Europe, especially in previously underserved regions. The EU wants to open this up to private technological initiatives: Apart from Starlink — which currently has about 4,000 satellites at an altitude of 500 to 550 kilometers, with 8,000 more to come — another supplier active in space is the British company OneWeb, which has 600 satellites. Amazon has announced news of another mega-constellation in the form of its Project Kuiper. China, too, is already planning a network numbered in the five digits. “More and more coun- tries want to increase their sovereignty by having their own satellite constellations.” Dr. Nadya Ben Bekhti-Winkel, Fraunhofer Aviation and Space Alliance “More and more countries want to increase their sovereignty by having their own satellite constellations,” observes Dr. Nadya Ben Bekhti-Winkel. As acting head of the Space technology area, part of the Fraunhofer AVIA- TION & SPACE alliance, she has joined 14 organizations back to page 1 43

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine More numerous, smaller, cheaper — satellites in New Space These days, profitability is key, even in space: Welcome to the New Space age! While satellite projects were formerly driven and exclusively financed by state bodies, these days we are seeing ever-increasing involvement from private enterprises. Industrial companies and start-ups will be providing the lion’s share of the space applica- tions we need — and they will also reap the financial rewards. Rather than large systems with sophisticated technology, New Space will feature small satellites com- municating with each other to form powerful networks. “Small satellites are cheaper and quicker to manufacture than conventional large satellites. This means companies can react more quickly to the needs of the market. The possibility of cheaper mass production would enable construction of large satellite constellations for entirely new commercial services and scientific applications. This brings about exciting research questions for Fraunhofer in areas such as intelligent systems, innovative payloads and modern manufacturing processes, right through to application development,” says Prof. Frank Schäfer, head of the Space business unit at the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics EMI, based at the Ernst-Mach-In- stitut in Freiburg. His institute researches and develops technologies for New Space and has built ERNST, Fraun- hofer’s first research satellite, which is scheduled for launch in 2024. “ERNST offers us entirely new opportunities to research a wide variety of technologies on our own satellite platform.” Prof. Frank Schäfer, Fraunhofer EMI Producing a mirror telescope for the GALA laser altimeter can take up to 12 months. Work often takes place at night so that as few vibrations as possible disturb the precision manufacturing. gradients and extreme cosmic radiation. “We had to ensure that GALA stays intact and maintains full performance during its eight-year voyage to Jupiter and its explo- ration of Ganymede,” explains Dr. Henrik von Lukowicz, head of the Precision Sys- tems working group. After meticulous, high-precision manufacturing, followed by vibration and thermal vacuum tests and irradiation in the lab, GALA has proven itself ready for the challenge of voyaging through space and the harsh conditions around Jupiter. Temperatures up to 430 °C Another Fraunhofer measuring instru- ment has already been in space since October 20, 2018. The infrared spec- trometer MERTIS (Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer) is traveling to Mercury on board the Euro- pean-Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo. Its reflective infrared optics, also devel- oped at Fraunhofer IOF, will characterize the minerals and elements on Mercury’s surface. Flybys past Venus should slow the spacecraft down enough by 2025 for it to swing into Mercury’s orbit. There, too, the instrument will have to withstand extreme conditions: Temperatures on Mercury range from minus 170 °C up to plus 430 °C. Initial test results during a Venus flyby have provided confirmation that the spectrometer is still functioning. The Fraunhofer researchers have already proven that their space technology can cope with the challenging conditions in outer space: They developed and pro- duced the metal mirrors for the Mid-Infra- red Instrument (MIRI) on board the James Webb Space Telescope. This telescope focuses its gaze beyond our planetary system and out into the far distance. MIRI is capable of capturing light that originated more than 13.5 billion years ago in the wake of the Big Bang. Since July 2022, it has been supplying impressive images from distant galaxies. Scientist Dr. Risse is elated: “Of course, we knew about the telescope’s capabilities, but this fantastic brilliance and image resolution just keep on amazing us.” back to page 1 45

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Circuits IIS in Erlangen, are working on this. These researchers already played a part in the standardization of DVB-S2X, the most advanced satellite communications standard to date. They use beam hopping, a new concept that allows data transmission via satellite to be flexibly adapted to the variable levels of data demand in different areas. “Up until now, a satellite would supply static levels of data to certain areas. Beam hopping means the satellite switches back and forth between different coverage areas — based on a schedule that takes into account the required data rates at a given time,” explains Mr. Wansch. “This means one antenna can cover multiple areas — and the transmission capacity is always available in full bandwidth exactly where it is needed.” This requires the satellites to be equipped with modular phased array antennas. Their individual beams can be electronically controlled, mak- ing them much more flexible than the mechanically controlled antennas that were previously used. 5G integration is crucial For global cellular coverage to function reliably, satellite communications must be integrated into terrestrial communications such as the 5G network. In the future, user equipment should also be able to directly commu- nicate with satellites — even when there is no terrestrial base station nearby, which has been an indispensable requirement up until now. In the future, depending on whether they have reception, smartphones or even auton- omous vehicles could be able to establish a 5G connection either via a terrestrial station or directly via satellite. This flexible combination of fiber-optic and satellite internet would enable complete network coverage across Ger- many — bidding goodbye to mobile dead spots. In 2021, Mr. Wansch’s team of researchers at Fraunhofer IIS used a geostationary satellite in orbit above a fixed location on the Earth’s surface to successfully demonstrate the first direct communication between satellites and 5G-enabled user equipment in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). To trial these NTNs, along with efficient transmission concepts and other satellite technology, radio experts developed the Fraunhofer On-Board Processor (FOBP), a type of satellite communications laboratory that can be booked by those in research and industry for experi- mental purposes. This flying laboratory went into space this summer on board the communications satellite Heinrich Hertz (H2Sat), and took on the job of processing its digital signals. “Up to now, communications satellites have just acted as relays that receive signals from Earth, amplify them and transmit them to other ground stations, where the signals are processed,” explains Mr. Wansch. “Onboard processors allow the signals to be processed directly within the satellites. So the satellites themselves become intelligent network components that can control data streams as needed.” As the processor can be adapted to new communication standards from the ground at any time, it lends itself to a diverse range of experiments and applications. Communicating with light More and more data, limited radio frequencies — but at the end of the tunnel there is: light! Light can also be used for communication between satellites and ground stations. Transmitting constantly increasing amounts of data at the speed of light across ever-expanding distances through space is one area that optics experts are researching at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena. They are developing laser sources for generating light, as well as optical amplifiers to maximize the range of these lasers. One of their solutions is the wavelength division multiplexer: a device that combines multiple laser beams of different wavelengths. Every individual laser beam with its own specific wavelength represents a single channel, each of which can transmit data and generates 20 watts of power. This multi-channel approach enables high data transmission rates. The multiplexer combines these channels into a single, more powerful signal. Super- imposing five channels achieves a total of 100 watts of optical power and thus a very long range. This raises the prospect of an optical link that could reach as far as the moon. Satellites distributed across multiple orbits could use light to communicate seamlessly with ground stations. Researchers are currently working on a system with 1,000 watts of power, which should be scalable up to 10,000 watts in the future. This would make it possible to transmit data from Earth as far as Mars. Secured via quantum encryption Light offers one further advantage, apart from range and capacity: Entangled light particles make data exchange particularly secure — which is vital in today’s uncertain global situation. Critical information belonging to state or military bodies must be reliably protected from unautho- rized access. The EU therefore wants to be among the first to back the principle of quantum key distribution (QKD). This could prove to offer a real advantage over Starlink and other commercial networks. The aim is to supply secret symmetric keys to two partners, no matter how far apart they are. This can be achieved using entangled light particles. The characteristics of these photons are so closely linked that measuring just one of the par- back to page 1 47

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine measuring larger than ten centimeters, and more than a million measuring between one and ten centimeters, are currently hurtling around the Earth at speeds of up to 50,000 kilometers per hour. The impact of even one tiny fragment of debris can equal the force of a hand grenade. Researchers at Fraunhofer EMI are conducting laboratory experiments to investigate the effects of such impacts on satellites. They use in-house software to carry out risk analyses with the aim of identifying vulnerabilities right from the satellites’ design phases, and building in pro- tective shields. Many manufacturers also equip their satellites with thrusters so that they can evade large pieces of debris and flying objects with measurable trajectories. To increase sustainability in space, as well as security on the ground, satellites must be able to burn up without trace when they reenter the Earth’s atmosphere at the end of their lifespan — this feature must be built into satellites during their construction. The problem is, at an altitude of 600 kilometers, space debris circulates for about 25 years before its velocity reduces to a point where it can burn up in the atmosphere. At an altitude of 800 kilometers, this can take as long as 150 years. France is a trailblazer when it comes to solving the problem of debris: French law dictates that satellites must be disposed of at the end of their mission. ERNST is also working in earnest to protect the space environment: At the end of the operat- ing period, a braking sail measuring 1.6 meters x 1.6 meters is unfurled, meaning Fraunhofer nanosatellites linger at an altitude of 500 kilometers for only a few months, instead of a few years. Keeping an eye on satellites and space debris As low Earth orbit becomes more crowded, it is becoming more important that we maintain the most comprehen- sive and up-to-date overview possible — especially Keeping an eye on conditions in space: Dr. Lars Fuhrmann from Fraunhofer FHR can use TIRA to precisely record the orbit data and rotational parameters of satellites or space debris. back to page 1 49

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine turned to businesses such as Elon Musk’s US-based com- pany SpaceX. But despite SpaceX’s large number of flights, the waitlists are long. In 2022, Falcon rockets launched 60 times, in contrast to the European Ariane 5, which launched only twice. While the much-postponed launch of Ariane 6, Europe’s most powerful carrier rocket to date, is now scheduled to happen in French Guiana in late 2023, a question still hangs over whether its capacity will suffice for the growing satellite business. The reason is that in contrast to the reusable SpaceX carrier rockets, which can be relaunched, Ariane will remain a single-use rocket for the time being. Sustainability just wasn’t on the table during the initial planning process at Arianespace back in 2014. However, there is hope — many recently founded New Space start-ups are now working with public decision-mak- ers to expand EU space capacity. Even Prof. Schäfer of Fraunhofer EMI is convinced: “In Europe as well as at Fraunhofer, there is a huge amount of know-how around relevant technologies, whether in satellite construction or in communication, quantum and radar technologies. This will help us succeed in establishing our own reliable infrastructure in space and release us from our previous dependency on the USA and Russia.” — Scan here for the podcast: A landmark in Wachtberg: The radome in Bonn shelters the TIRA space observation radar operated by Fraunhofer FHR. distance of 1,000 kilometers, the tracking radar’s beam can be trained on an object to an accuracy of three meters. At the same distance, we can simultaneously detect pieces of debris measuring as little as two centimeters in size.” Missions to retrieve decommissioned satellites TIRA is also used as an experimental system for devel- oping new space observation techniques, both at Fraun- hofer FHR and in collaboration with space organizations such as the ESA and DLR. “Its areas of application range from precise orbit calculations right up to highly tech- nical analyses of suspicious or otherwise interesting satellites,” explains Dr. Fuhrmann. “We compile series of high-resolution radar images to investigate factors such as the stability level and rotational characteristics of disabled satellites.” To assist with preparations for the first European ClearSpace mission scheduled for 2025, TIRA experts helped with object characterization during the process of selecting suitable objects for retrieval. One possible candidate for a future mission is Envisat, the ESA earth observation satellite, which has been circling through space as a ghost satellite ever since it was decommissioned in 2012. It would take 150 years for it to lose enough speed to independently enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up. As it weighs eight tons and measures 25 meters in diameter, it would pose a significant risk to other satellites during this period. In the case of a collision, the resulting debris cloud could trigger a devastating chain reaction. To assess which of the available capture technologies — such as nets or magnetic field technology — are most suitable for capturing such a colossus, as well as deciding on the best way to approach it, the experts are using TIRA to observe the satellite over months and years, meticulously recording its rotational parameters and speed. This data could be used to prepare for a retrieval mission. The goal is to deliberately let the decommissioned satellites burn up, thus ensuring they end their lives in a sustainable manner. TIRA’s special features have earned it a great reputation worldwide. In fact, the research team is cur- rently supporting the Japanese space agency with similar retrieval activities. Limits of sovereignty One other challenge remains largely unresolved: How will the European satellites actually get into space? Since the EU still has neither the necessary modern rocket tech- nology nor the capacity, this is where sovereignty reaches its limits. After the Ukraine war rendered Russian carrier rockets and launch sites unusable, European missions back to page 1 51

T he commercial vehicles of the future will not only need batter- ies — they will also need hydro- gen. At Daimler Truck, we are well aware of this, which is why we signed a memorandum of understanding with the Toy- ota Motor Corporation a few months ago. As well as outlining plans to merge our Japanese commercial vehicle subsidies, this agreement also concerns collaborating on hydrogen pro- pulsion. In addition, in 2021, we formed the cellcentric joint venture with the Volvo Group to build one of the largest production facilities for fuel cells in Europe. In contrast to our col- leagues in the passenger car sector, we are not pursuing a single technological strategy, but rather heading down a two-track road — and we have a good reason for that. First of all, trucks are not just big cars. They are capital goods. Our customers must be able to earn money using our products. That means they keep a close eye on costs. And not just the purchasing costs, but also specifically the overall costs throughout a truck’s working life. These costs currently depend very much on the price of diesel — and in the future, they will depend on the prices of electricity and hydrogen. Depending on how these prices develop, it may be more economical for com- mercial vehicle customers to choose battery or fuel cell propulsion. When it comes to trucks and long-distance buses in particular, energy prices will greatly influence customers’ pur- chasing decisions. However, we cannot predict future price levels — so we also cannot predict the future mix of battery and fuel cell vehicles. This means companies that are not developing hydrogen drives at present could lose out in the future, when the market for hydrogen models may be booming. One more important thing — in addition to fuel cells, there is another form of hydrogen production: the hydrogen combustion engine. This technology is a good CO2-free alternative for trucks that have vehicle platforms, such as construction site vehicles, and thus require significantly more energy than is used just for driving. For this reason, we are following current discussions around hydrogen com- bustion engines very closely. If this concept receives well-founded political support, we will be well prepared and quickly be able to offer vehicle series of this kind. “Emission-free trucks powered with batteries alone? Every truck stop would need as much energy as a small town.” Martin Daum heads up the largest com- mercial vehicle manufac- turer in the world, with 100,000 employees at over 40 production faci- lities. In May, it was announced that Daimler Truck is planning to merge large parts of its business in Asia with Toyota — and drive the development of hydrogen propulsion and other future-oriented technologies together. has been the CEO of Daimler Truck AG since 2019, which split off from the former Daimler AG with an initial public offer- ing in 2021. joined what was then Daimler-Benz AG in 1987, after training as a bank clerk, studying business administration and spend- ing three years as a busi- ness consultant. In 2009, Mr. Daum became presi- dent and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America and increased its market share from 29.6 to 39.3 percent. was born on October 28, 1959 in Karlsruhe, and is married with three grown-up children. back to page 1 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine A second reason for our two-pronged strat- egy is the infrastructure. A few facts clearly show what it would mean for zero-emission trucks to be powered with batteries alone in the future. First, if that were the case, every truck stop would require between 20 and 50 charging stations. And every charging station would need to be equipped for megawatt charging. This means every truck stop would need as much energy as a small town. That type of charging infrastructure is pure fantasy. Providing widespread public access to this amount of charging capacity is simply not realistic. It would overtax power grid expansion efforts beyond all hope of recovery. Just for this reason alone, we will also need hydrogen for trucks in the future — in addition to batteries. And we must note another fact too: As the consulting firm McKinsey found in a study, when it comes to costs, building two infra- structures is cheaper than just building one. Intuitively, you might expect a different result. But taking an infrastructure that’s just based on batteries and scaling it up to an extreme volume is more expensive than scaling two infrastructures — one for batteries and one for hydrogen — up to a medium volume. The third reason concerns the European continent’s energy needs. In order to make Europe more sustainable, we need to com- pletely replace the energy produced from fos- sil raw materials with green energy sources. The amounts involved are so enormous that we cannot produce them in Europe, where we get comparatively little sunshine. But the good news is, there’s more than enough green energy available worldwide. Every day, the Earth’s land mass is hit with 15 times as much solar energy as we consume worldwide in a whole year. We just need to capture it and transport it to where it is needed. How- ever, for this purpose, we need a carbon-free energy carrier that can be traded world- wide — and with that, we have now circled back to hydrogen. So what we can take away here is that we need to develop a hydrogen economy to sup- port the sustainable industry of tomorrow — and there are good reasons to use this energy carrier for trucks and buses too. This is why commercial vehicle manufacturers need to take a two-track road to reach the future. 53 G A k c u r T r e m a D i l : o t o h P

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine T hey travel by plane, truck or ship, they carry dengue fever and Zika viruses and they’re here to stay: the Asian tiger mosquito. Although it is originally native to the south and south-east Asian tropics and subtropics, climate change is making many parts of Germany feel quite homey for this particular insect. The scientists in project CuliFo are researching where and how these mosquitoes are spreading, as well as what viruses they are bringing along with them and transmitting to humans and animals. Coordinated by the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, this interdisciplin- ary team has been on the trail of Aedes albopictus, as the tiger mosquito is known by experts, since 2016. Back then, they only found sporadic signs of the insects in the extreme south west of Germany. Now, how- ever, the tropical mosquitoes have reached or become endemic to large swathes of southern, western and eastern Germany. Since the beginning of this year, the scientists in Germany’s largest joint research project on mosquitoes have been benefiting from the assistance of the Fraun- hofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immu- nology IZI in Leipzig. “In CuliFo, we are studying the spread of these disease-car- rying insects,” explains Dr. Sebastian Ulbert, head of department for Vaccines and Infection Models. “To do that, we are exam- ining a variety of animals, particularly dead birds, for antibodies that indicate a previ- ous infection caused by a mosquito bite.” Dr. Ulbert and his team obtain samples from all over Germany with the help of their colleagues and close collaboration partners at the Friedrich-Loeffler Federal Research Institute for Animal Health (FLI), which is headquartered on the island of Riems. The researchers’ main focus is the Usutu and West Nile viruses. While Usutu virus is primarily a threat to animals, having caused a sharp decline in the blackbird population in the Upper Rhine region during an outbreak in 2011, West Nile virus also presents a risk to human life. The disease was first identified in 1937 in the West Nile region of Uganda, hence the name. Victims of the virus often expe- rience high fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, exhaustion and joint pain. In some rare cases, it can even lead to inflammation of the brain or the lining of the brain and spi- nal cord — as with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), which is also caused by a pathogen from the flavivirus family. However, while it is relatively easy to protect yourself against tick bites and so to avoid TBE infec- tions, this is incomparably harder when it comes to mosquito bites — especially as West Nile virus is now being trans- mitted by the common house mosquito. “The West Nile virus is an all-rounder,” says Dr. Ulbert. “It’s not choosy when it comes to the hosts that it can multiply in. We are aware of 350 types of bird alone in which it can replicate. This is why the West Nile virus is the most widely spread mosquito-borne virus in the world.” For- tunately, the same does not hold true for other members of the flavivirus family, like dengue fever and Zika virus. To date, they have almost exclusively used yellow fever mosquitoes as their host and vector. What’s more, these tropical viruses require long, uninterrupted periods of high tem- peratures in order to multiply in the mos- quitoes to such an extent that their bite becomes infectious — another important difference between them and their West Nile cousins, which only need 10 to 15 days where the temperatures do not sink below 20 degrees. This means that the West Nile virus can spread much more quickly. As all flaviviruses resemble each other closely, the antibodies produced by immune cells as a defense against them are also very similar. Consequently, devel- oping test systems that allow for unam- biguous identification is quite a challenge. “The tests that are currently in use often give people a positive result for West Nile virus simply because they have been vaccinated against TBE,” explains Dr. Ulbert. He and his team have succeeded in developing tests that can detect anti- bodies with a far greater level of accuracy. Together with their colleagues at the FLI, the team of researchers aims to improve the testing systems further in project CuliFo so that they can detect the spread of the viruses even more reliably. Their goals include the creation of early warning systems that will allow us to be better prepared for larger outbreaks. The first outbreak of this nature struck the Leipzig region in summer 2020. Ten people were so severely affected by West Nile fever that they had to be treated in intensive care units, and two of the victims died. “Of course, this was during the coro- navirus pandemic, so at the time, no one was interested. There were probably more than a hundred people infected in the city,” Dr. Ulbert estimates. At present, he is working with the University of Leipzig Medical Center to retroactively calculate more accurate figures by screening blood donations. In Padua in northern Italy, the situation is already far more serious. The city experienced an outbreak of the illness last summer, with 200 severely affected patients stretching the local intensive care units to their breaking point. Dozens of those undergoing intensive medical care died. “The case numbers are still quite low for the time being, but they will very probably rise in the years to come, with the areas where they spread expanding within our own borders as well,” predicts Dr. Ulbert. The danger is most severe for older people above the age of 60 and people with preexisting conditions. “The at-risk demographics are much the same as those for coronavirus,” he explains. “However, unlike COVID, we have neither an effective vaccine nor medications to counter West Nile virus.” Currently, all that can be done is to stabilize the patients and hope their immune systems are strong enough to hold out, he adds. Dr. Ulbert and his team are working to change that, and they have already identified a promis- ing vaccine candidate. However, so far, they have not been able to find a partner from the pharmaceutical industry to help them conduct clinical trials. The researchers are also working on a drug that prevents the viruses from replicating in the host cell and could also be used to counter dengue fever and Zika viruses. “It’s still too cold for them in Germany,” says Dr. Ulbert. “But they will come. They have already reached southern Europe.” back to page 1 55 l o r t n o C d n a n o i t n e v e r P e s a e s i D r o f e r t n e C n a e p o r u E : e c n a v d a ’ s t c e s n i e h t f o p a m e h t r o f e c r u o s ; o t o h p k c o t s i / n a g a t n A i , C D C / y n a h t a G s e m a J : o t o h P

Prof. Vilcinskas and his team are targeting genes that are vital to the insects’ survival: lethal genes. If these genes are switched off via RNAi, the mosquito will die. “The problem is not finding these genes. Around a third of all the genes that we silenced in the red flour beetle resulted in the death of the insect. However, many of them were far from suitable for our purposes. We can only use a gene if it is susceptible to even tiny doses of the double-stranded RNA.” After all, the “bite” that the larvae filter from the water around them is only the size of a single cell. The packaging counts The RNA has to be packaged safely to ensure that it does not disintegrate, but finding the right for- mulation for the protective shell is no mean feat. It must be something that only dissolves when the RNA arrives in the intestines of the larvae, where it can take effect — any earlier is no good, as many mosquitoes and larvae have enzymes for breaking down RNA in their saliva. The formulation also has to be individually adapted to suit its target insect. For example, some larvae float around in the water as they filter out nutrients, but others, like the Asian bush mosquito, prefer to feed at the bottom of the body of water. In their cases then, the RNA particles have to be designed to sink. The Asian tiger mosquito alone can transmit 20 diff rent viruses. W hen what has so far been Germa- ny’s last malaria epidemic struck in the extremely hot summers of 1945 and 1946, the country’s main weapon was still dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). This chemical was then a commonly used insecticide, and it was sprayed extensively at the time. Traces of its impact can still be seen today in places like the Schlachtensee lake in Berlin. DDT has been banned since 1972, because it disrupts the hormonal balance in humans and animals and is suspected of causing cancer. Prof. Andreas Vilcinskas, branch director for Bioresources at the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME in Gießen, is working on a more up-to-date solution for mosquito control. Together with their col- leagues at the LOEWE Centre for translational biodiversity genomics, Prof. Vilcinskas and his team sequenced the genomes of various tropical mosquitoes; this information can be used to detect their larvae in water. “By ana- lyzing environmental DNA, we can monitor large areas with relatively high levels of preci- sion. This allows us to detect rapidly growing populations at a relatively early stage, so it’s a little like a fire alarm for us. The technique can also be used to verify the presence of viruses,” explains Prof. Vil- cinskas. It’s a good analogy, because a viral outbreak has to be extinguished just as quickly as the source of a fire. “With our ‘fire department,’ an innovative RNAi technology, we have a targeted method of eliminating the larvae without harming the environment.” The researchers plan to feed the juvenile mosquitoes a specially designed double-stranded RNA that will trigger a natural mechanism used by higher organisms to protect themselves against invasive viruses: RNA interference, or RNAi for short. The principle behind this mechanism is that, unlike animal and plant cells, viruses pro- duce double-stranded RNA. If this form of RNA is discovered in cells, then it is identified as a foreign body and destroyed. However, this process breaks down not only the double-stranded RNA, but also all the body’s own single-stranded RNA with the same sequence. Consequently, the asso- ciated, complementary gene sequence can no longer be read out and a certain protein can no longer be produced. i k s w o r e z c n a B r t o P / r e f o h n u a r F i , o t o h p k c o t s i / o s a p a r e l a m : s o t o h P 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine “With our ‘fire department,’ an innovative RNAi technology, we have a targeted method of eliminating the larvae without harming the environment.” Prof. Andreas Vilcinskas, Fraunhofer IME Prof. Vilcinskas and his team have already notched up one success with the pea aphid. They can stop this particular pest from producing a specific protein that hardens when it makes con- tact with the host plant’s sap flow to form a kind of drinking straw for the insect. Without it, the aphid cannot suck up its food and will starve to death. “The special thing about double-stranded RNA is that we can design it to target specific species, like a precise surgical implement. With pesticides on the other hand, there is always collateral damage.” The urgency of this issue cannot be under- stated, as Prof. Vilcinskas is quick to point out. The Asian tiger mosquito alone can transmit 20 different viruses that present a risk to human health. “No one in the scientific community seri- ously doubts that these viruses are coming. We have to protect ourselves and we urgently need environmentally friendly control methods.” back to page 1 57

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine being started on ineffective treatments. Both create equal strain on the patients and the healthcare system. “Doctor’s prac- tices and hospitals have not yet been digitalized to the extent we would like,” says Prof. Geißlinger. “We urgently need to take decisive steps to address this, even if it costs a lot of money in the beginning. But ultimately, digitalization is one of several measures that will save our health- care system.” Another crucial tool is automation — in the areas of diagnostics, treatment and care. Wise implementation of robot-as- sisted systems in relevant areas of the healthcare sector could relieve some of the strain on medical and care staff by taking over routine or physically demanding tasks, for example. This will allow personnel to stay physically fit for longer and give them more time in their day-to-day jobs for their actual work: helping and healing. In the European research project DIH- HERO (Digital Innovation Hub Healthcare “It’s high time we transformed our healthcare system.” Prof. Gerd Geißlinger, Fraunhofer ITMP Robotics), the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automa- tion IPA is contributing its expertise in assistive robotics for medical and care staff. Fraunhofer IPA has already developed a smart care cart that autonomously accom- panies staff in hospitals and care homes and independently documents which materials are taken from the cart. This care cart has cousins: a robotic service assistant that can be filled with drinks and snacks and autonomously offers them to patients and care home residents, and a transpor- tation robot that quickly and safely brings care carts and containers to their destina- tions. However, robotics does not only play an important role in routine tasks, but also more and more in surgical interventions. Robotic-assisted and (semi-)automated surgical procedures using connected sys- tems have the potential to create unprec- edented flexibility and precision in the operating room. What is more, when combined with smart assistance systems, they could increase the quality of these procedures while also saving on costs. Automation also affects the production of therapeutic agents. Producing medicines for personalized cell and gene therapies, which are used for diseases such as acute cancers, is extremely time-consuming, personnel-intensive and expensive. This is because cell therapies, which belong to the category of advanced therapy medic- inal products (ATMPs), have been produced manually up until now. Innovative solu- tions are therefore required to allow these therapeutic agents to be produced in an automated, digitalized and thus more cost-efficient way. In a white paper on the scalable production of ATMPs, experts from multiple Fraunhofer institutes developed modular strategies based on highly auto- mated and fully digitalized technologies; these allow better-quality products to be produced at a higher speed, which results in significant cost savings. Since 2021, the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI has been working to develop AI-driven ATMP production systems for hospitals as part of the EU project AIDPATH. The aim is to produce CAR T cells tailored to specific individuals — these are genetically altered T cells from cancer patients that are given a special receptor that allows them to recognize and destroy tumor cells. Estab- lishing a facility of this kind directly at the site where treatment takes place will save valuable time and avoid expensive logistics processes. back to page 1 59 ation of a range of university hospitals — shows the results of treatment in other patients. In addition, the system balances the expected success of the treatment against the costs — it can give information on more cost-effective alternatives, for example. The Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS developed the Onco- Change software for automatic, efficient and reliable monitoring of tumor progres- sion. OncoChange supports physicians in detecting disease- and therapy-related changes in tumors in CT images and in quantitatively determining their size development; this enables a faster and more accurate generation of findings compared to conventionally used methods. As a result, ineffective therapies can be replaced earlier by alternatives, improving the patients’ quality of life or even extending their lives — and saving costs. The Onco- Change software is designed to be integra- ble into already existing clinical software infrastructures — a crucial advantage to bring solutions into application quickly and affordably. Because currently, accord- ing to Prof. Geißlinger, “we have a patch- work of individual systems in the health- care landscape that don’t always commu- nicate with each other well.” This means tests are sometimes carried out multiple times or incomplete data leads to patients l s a u o S r e v i l O , a p d / t r e b b a G r a m t e D i - s u a K l : s o t o h P

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Rip-off or real? Whether it’s medicines, aftershave or automobile brakes, product pirates will stop at nothing and are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Consumers will now be able to use their smartphones for a simple check to see if they are dealing with a fake product. By Andrea Kaufmann L a s t yea r, G er ma n c u s tom s authorities confiscated coun- terfeit goods to the value of 435 million euros — a rise of 38 percent on the previous year. The trade in inferior copies is lucrative for criminals, but often dangerous for consumers. Poor quality and problematic ingredients carry high risks. In the SmartID project, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research IAP, Secure Informa- tion Technology SIT and for Open Com- munication Systems FOKUS are devel- oping an innovative labeling system that will make life harder for product pirates in the future. Their technique uses an app and a smartphone camera to quickly and easily check whether a product is genuine. The major advantage here is that the check can be conducted offline and without connecting to a database. The surface of every package or prod- uct has a characteristic texture, formed by random irregularities that arise during the manufacturing process. Researchers are harnessing this unique feature: They examine the individual characteristics of the surface texture, which act like the fingerprints of the particular packaging or product. Researchers at Fraunhofer SIT are developing algorithms to analyze this information. The fingerprints are linked to the product manufacturer’s digital signature to make a secure and unique label — the SmartID. “For a fingerprint to be unique, it must contain sufficient rep- resentative characteristics that can be reliably recognized,” explains Dr. Waldemar Berchtold, a specialist in IT forensics and multimedia security at Fraunhofer SIT. “The area we scan for surface textures currently measures several square centi- meters. Within this area, we can identify P A I r e f o h n u a r F : o t o h P one million characteristics that can be read by all devices, even in poor lighting.” A team from Fraunhofer IAP are devel- oping specially customized quantum materials that make the SmartID even more In 2022, German customs authorities confiscated counterfeit goods to the value of 435 million euros. secure. These light up in the near infrared (NIR) region of the spectrum and are printed onto the object using a novel ink formulation. SmartID project manager Dr. Tobias Jochum from the Center for Applied Nanotechnology CAN at Fraunhofer IAP explains: “Because we include the NIR spectral region along with the visible region, we detect more surface texture characteristics in the same area.” To make the introduction of this process easier, the ink and printing process has been opti- mized so it can be carried out in the con- ventional production facilities of the product and packaging industries. The SmartID is printed onto the pack- aging or the product in the form of a QR code. “In principle, it is possible to store a secure and unique label in any kind of two-dimensional barcode system. In the SmartID project, we have focused on the QR code, as this has already been accepted among both industry and end consumers,” says IT expert André Paul of Fraunhofer FOKUS. The quantity of data required to integrate the fingerprint into conventional QR codes would exceed their storage capac- ity. For this reason, the team at Fraunhofer FOKUS is working on achieving higher storage capacities without compromising compatibility with classical QR codes. This will make it easier to integrate the tech- nology into existing processes within the entire supply chain. To authenticate a product, the con- sumer will be able to simultaneously scan both the QR code and the product’s sur- face using their smartphone’s camera. The smartphone’s SmartID app will compare the two datasets. If they cor- relate, this proves the product is authen- tic. “Since you don’t need to use a database to find matches, there is no need for an i nter net con nec t ion,” ex pla i ns Dr. Jochum. “That saves on the cost of install- ing and operating centralized databases, and has a positive effect on the carbon footprint.” back to page 1 61

I n the beginning, cell phones were just for making phone calls on the go, but now they combine a bank branch, shopping mall, music player, navigation system, television and much more. And the technological development is continuing: In the future, smart in-ear headphones with a direct internet interface could take the place of smartphones. These will have to be very small, with minimal energy requirements; they will also have to allow for low power consumption at a high sound pressure level and low production costs. Microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS for short, are ideal for this purpose. Until now, however, the key to this type of in-ear headphones has been lacking: suitable speaker technology. The tech- nologies currently on the market are not yet suitable for such demanding applications — due to factors such as the required degree of miniaturization, integration capability, cost reduction, production scalability or power consumption at very high sound pressure levels. The first functional, economical microspeakers Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS have now taken an important step toward creating smart in-ear headphones by developing the key piece that they had been missing: mini silicon speakers that can be manufactured using microelectron- ics technologies and achieve the volume of 120 decibels required by the market without high power consumption. Dr. Bert Kaiser and Dr. Sergiu Langa from Fraunhofer IPMS and Holger Conrad from Bosch Sensortec GmbH are receiving the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize for their development. They used two innovative scientific approaches to develop the mini speakers. Firstly, they created a com- pletely new design for the speaker: rather than being based on a conventional vertically deflectable diaphragm, the sound-displacing elements are positioned vertically in a silicon chip. Secondly, they came up with a new drive technology for these elements, the “Nano e-drive” actu- ators; these allow the sound to be generated. It is almost impossible to separate the two innovations from each other. “With the actuator, an electrostatic lever, we solved a fundamental problem: You can use it to create very large deflections and thus achieve high volumes,” says Dr. Kaiser. If you apply a voltage, the lever moves — like an electrostatic muscle. In this way, the researchers were able to achieve large movements with small gap distances. In his dissertation, Dr. Kaiser investigated exactly how exactly to design this lever in order for it to move par- ticularly efficiently and create large deflections. The research team stacked many of these levers vertically in i k s i w o r e z c n a B r t o P / r e f o h n u a r F : s o t o h p l l A 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine the chip. The levers form a sort of speaker membrane; however, rather than being on the surface, they are inside the body of the chip. When the levers move in response to a voltage, they force the air out of the chip via an outlet opening, which generates sound. “This idea came about through many discussions, including with the director of Fraunhofer IPMS, Prof. Harald Schenk,” says Dr. Langa. To bring the speakers to the market, Arioso Systems GmbH was founded in 2019 as a spin-off of Fraunhofer IPMS. Dr. Hermann Schenk also made a significant con- “With the actuator, an electrostatic lever, we solved a fundamental problem: You can use it to create very large deflections and thus achieve high volumes.” Dr. Bert Kaiser, Fraunhofer IPMS The sound-displacing elements are positioned vertically in a silicon chip. tribution to this achievement, in terms of both the tech- nology and the modeling process, during his time at Fraunhofer IPMS and later as managing director of the spin-off. Bosch Sensortec GmbH acquired Arioso Systems GmbH in summer 2022, with the aim of developing cut- ting-edge products based on MEMS speaker technology for the global mass market. back to page 1 63

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine is between a gas and liquid in terms of its properties, was previously only used for drying, we use it at every step in the process. That means we can eliminate the use of acids altogether.” Even the raw materials meet the sustainability requirement: The researchers tested more than 20 different types of silica sols that were readily available, inexpensive and non-toxic — as opposed to the often expensive established variants. Mineral plaster is a highly effective insulator In the final step of the process, the aerogel is broken down into grains 2 to 4 millimeters in size and mixed into a pure mineral plaster so as to be suitable for use as an insulation material for buildings. The resulting mixture has excellent insulation and physical properties for con- struction, meaning that it outperforms conventional insulation materials such as polystyrene or mineral wool. “The network in our aerogel is so fine that it allows us to stop the movement of individual air molecules, so almost no heat transfer occurs. When mixed into the plaster, the aerogels can reduce thermal conductivity by a factor of two when compared to polystyrene — that is truly huge. So what we have is a highly effective insulating material made purely from minerals,” reveals Mr Dworatzyk. This means that a sheet of aerogel material with half the thickness of a sheet of polystyrene can achieve the same level of insulation. And there’s another advantage, too: “We only use materials like sand and lime, which can be put back into the circular material economy. If the plaster needs to be removed from the wall in 50 or 60 years, you could use it to make new plaster,” Mr. Sen- gespeick explains. For several years now, this insulating plaster has been used in various prefabricated hous- ing developments to keep out the cold, as well as in a number of listed church buildings and housing estates. The new production process therefore holds great poten- tial both for the building technology sector and climate protection. Nils Mölders (right) and Andreas Sengespeick (center) of Fraunhofer UMSICHT worked with Christoph Dworatzyk of PROCERAM GmbH & Co. KG to develop a solution for climate-friendly insulation. back to page 1 65

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Adrian Murtaza, Harald Fuchs and Dr. Achim Kuntz (from left) of Fraunhofer IIS are making music more personal. as software solutions for companies that are integrating the system into their products and a branding program for products that support the MPEG-H Audio system.” Another example of one of the many developments around MPEG-H Audio is the immersive, object-based music for- mat 360 Reality Audio from the electronics company Sony. It is firmly established on many streaming services — an album produced with this technology even won the Grammy for Best Immersive Audio Album in 2023. The end of the test phase Developing such a comprehensive audio system can only be done with a large team: At peak times, up to a hundred people were working simultaneously on the project, which started back in 2012 — there are currently still around 50 employees. “We needed a lot of know-how from various areas of expertise,” explains Mr. Fuchs. Receiving international support was also important. Industry and technology partners around the world helped make MPEG-H Audio fit for use in a wide variety of envi- ronments. The system was first introduced in South Korean television in May 2017. In a further success, Brazil put the technology through large-scale comparative tests in Decem- ber 2021 and decided to adopt it as the mandatory audio standard for its new television infrastructure. MPEG-H Audio has also been tested a number times in Europe. “This has made it possible for us to adapt the system to existing work- flows in the best possible way and integrate it into live and studio production environments,” says Mr. Murtaza. The team also developed audio production tools, which enabled the researchers to optimize the system while establishing partnerships in the creative industry, creating demand in the audio sector. All this makes MPEG-H Audio the only open standardized system for the creation, transmission, and playback of Next Generation Audfio content. back to page 1 67

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine the temperature. The level of heat in particular areas of the field can give farmers a clear indication of where the plants need to be watered and where they do not. The keys to the partners’ success in developing the technology demonstrator were their collaborative efforts and complementary expertise, which fit together seam- lessly. While Fraunhofer IOF created compact optics that could easily be integrated into the camera module, SPA- CEOPTIX prepared the necessary freeform mirror optical systems with nanometer precision. For their part, the researchers at Fraunhofer EMI contributed a patented measuring process in which the camera images are used to determine the exact land surface temperature. The task of planning the mission and evaluating the data went to constellr GmbH. A huge honor for a small system: Testing on board the ISS Together, the researchers were not only able to rise to the technological challenge, but also to meet the tight deadline: powered by their enthusiasm, they managed to develop and manufacture the demonstrator within a year, and put it through the necessary test runs. “From the ISS, we were able to capture about ten million images, with a resolution of around 80 meters,” Mr. Horch is pleased to report. The experts at constellr intend to build on this success by launching 16 small satellites by 2028 — these will be able to precisely measure the land surface tem- perature everywhere on the planet, with daily frequency, to a resolution of better than 50 meters. Detecting the heat in fields from afar: Cassi Welling (constellr GmbH) and Clemens Horch (Fraunhofer EMI). Change predicts that, due to climate change, the intensity and frequency of droughts will increase. In addition, the global population is also continuing to grow. It is estimated that, by 2050, the earth will be home to almost ten billion people — and those people will need food. What does that have to do with water? Plenty, as according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 70 percent of our drinking water is currently used for irrigation. And a particularly scary statistic here is that 60 percent of this water is wasted due to overwatering. Researchers from Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, together with the companies constellr GmbH and SPACEOPTIX (both spin-offs of these institutes), have taken inspiration from the founding principle of constellr GmbH to develop the infrared camera LisR — short for Longwave infrared sensing demonstratoR. Following a successful demonstration on the ISS, the findings from the LisR mission will now be used as the basis for build- ing a satellite constellation. In the future, this satellite constellation will measure the land surface temperature from orbit and help adjust irrigation systems according to the level of water actually needed. As early as 2026, this method could save 180 billion tons of water and 94 million tons of CO2 per year, while supplying plants with the optimal amount of water could increase global harvests by up to 4 percent. This would produce enough additional food to feed over 350 million people. Clemens Horch of Fraunhofer EMI, Dr. Henrik von Lukowicz of Fraunhofer IOF, Cassi Welling of constellr GmbH and Dr. Matthias Beier of SPACEOPTIX GmbH have been awarded the 2023 Fraunhofer Prize for Human- and Environ- ment-Centered Technology for their work on developing the LisR technology prototype. Measuring the actual land surface temperature But how does this technology actually help conserve such large quantities of water and CO2? “From a satellite, LisR monitors the Earth’s surface and detects the infrared radiation that the surface emits — i.e., the thermal radi- ation,” Ms. Welling explains. “Whereas other solutions just model the land surface temperature, we take direct measurements of the temperature of the leaf canopy or the vegetation on the land surface. This way, we can precisely assess water availability compared to demand and detect stresses earlier than we ever could before.” The evaluation can also indicate how well watered the plants are. If plants are not getting enough water, less water evaporates through their leaves, and that raises back to page 1 69

Leveraging synergies: Smart approaches to energy connect electricity generators and consumers in residential districts. 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine On the bright side The energy transition requires the electricity, heating and mobility sectors to be more closely interlinked — and not just in individual houses, but across entire residential districts. This means new ideas, tools and business models will have to be developed. By Beate Strobel H ousing is second only to mobility when it comes to being the center of attention in sustainability debates. And for good reason: Around 17 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in Germany come from private households. Conven- tional methods for heating buildings and providing hot water are the main causes of CO2 emissions and are therefore fueling climate change. This is because existing homes primarily use natural gas (49.5 per- cent) and heating oil (24.8 percent) as energy carriers — i.e., heating technolo- gies that use fossil resources. Up until now, climate protection mea- sures in the public sector have mainly been limited to encouraging people to save energy, renovate their homes to make them more energy-efficient and invest in renew- able energy technologies — e.g., by install- ing solar panels on the roof or putting in a heat pump powered with green energy. Fraunhofer is working on a different approach. “The most important energy sectors of heat, electricity and mobility all come together in residential districts,” says Prof. Peter Bretschneider, director of the Advanced Systems Technology AST branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploita- tion IOSB. “Connecting these sectors together in an intelligent way within these districts — and as a result, making more optimized use of the renewable energy generated locally — will be crucial to the o t o h p k c o t s i / a k n a r i P , z t r a H : o t o h P success of the energy transition.” After all, as the Greek philosopher Aristotle noted, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The Open District Hub (ODH) associ- ation has dedicated itself to developing synergistic solutions that create an energy supply for residential districts that is both financially and environmentally viable. The ODH is made up of more than just research institutes such as Fraunhofer — companies from the energy and real estate industries, mobility, IT and consulting and a diverse range of associations and groups are taking part, which shows how many different disciplines are coming together around this issue: there are a lot of stake- holders in the energy transition. A living lab in Kaiserslautern The ODH has access to seven reference districts — areas used only for residential purposes and mixed districts with both residential and commercial buildings — to test out its innovative ideas for energy systems integration in the real world. In the Pfaff district in Kaiserslautern, for example, the site of the former Pfaff sewing machine factory has been turned into a living lab. The aim is to build a car- bon-neutral mixed-use district here by 2027. Photovoltaic plants are planned for generating electricity, and good connec- tions to local public transportation will provide climate-friendly mobility. back to page 1 71

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine The real estate company Vonovia owns 232 apartment blocks in this area, with over 1,500 inhabitants in total. As the buildings date back to the 1950s and 1960s, this is an ideal district to represent the many existing buildings that are badly in need of renovation. The Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Integrated Energy Systems CINES (in collaboration with Fraunhofer IOSB-AST, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI) selected a part of the district in Bochum-Weitmar to investigate the use of flexible energy approaches with locally based systems. The 13 buildings involved have been fitted with nine photovoltaic systems. Heat is provided via a district heating network; two natural gas condensing boilers, two air source heat pumps and one geothermal heat pump feed into this network. In addi- tion to serving household energy needs, the system also provides two charging stations that each have a charging point for the district’s car sharing service. The results of a short study on local systems as a flexible component of an energy system clearly show the benefit of integrating energy systems and using the same supply structures across different buildings. Simply connecting multiple buildings into one district increases the consumption of locally produced solar energy by 18 percent. Expanding the sys- tem to include district energy storage solutions increases this figure by a further 15 percent. However, taking an intelligent approach to district management that includes all possible f lexible options increases the consumption of locally pro- duced renewable energy to 78 percent, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 19 percent. “If natural gas condensing burners are primarily replaced with heat pumps as a heat source, energy-related CO2 emissions could actually be more than halved,” says project manager Sebastian Flemming of Fraunhofer IOSB-AST. What is more, in this district, not every building needs its own heat pump — multiple houses can share one. In 2019, the smood (“smart neighbor- ho o d ”) core g row t h i n it iat ive i n Thuringia — to which Fraunhofer IOSB and the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Tech- nologies and Systems IKTS, among others, provided scientific support — companies in the region and the Thuringian Renew- able Energies Network (ThEEN) joined together to develop a sort of toolkit for the synergetic further development of residen- tial districts. When it comes to renovation and modernizing buildings, the aim is for smood to support the entire process chain. smoodPLAN, for example, provides tools for collecting data on and evaluating the existing building stock. Meanwhile, the GeoHoP project team are developing a process for obtaining geothermal heat in densely built-up urban areas. GeoHeat- Storage has contributed a large-scale, yet cost-effective heat storage system that an entire district can use for storing seasonal heat. As part of the EStorage module, researchers from Fraunhofer IKTS devel- oped a fully recyclable sodium chloride “If they recognize not just the environmental advantages, but also the monetary benefits, they’ll take a different view of the photovoltaics on their roof and the wind turbine up the street.” Sebastian Flemming, project manager for the CINES study battery called Cerenergy that is manufac- tured using local raw materials and can store electricity from solar plants. Finally, smoodACT serves as the brain of the intel- ligent district management system: The data required to optimize the system flows into this control center, allowing it to ultimately manage the technical processes in the buildings. This all sounds like it would take a lot of effort and high levels of investment, especially when applied to older existing buildings. “However, if we can use around 60 percent renewable energy in the local- ity, the investments involved in integrating the energy systems will pay for themselves within around seven years,” predicts Prof. Bretschneider, scientific spokesperson for smood. The energy measures help to improve the taxonomy of the buildings — this is an attractive factor for the real estate industry as well. The financial viability of renewable energy supply structures is also closely interlinked with the development of fossil energy prices. 2022 clearly showed that it is difficult to calculate how the costs of fossil energy will develop in the short and medium term, in contrast to renewable energies. For Sebastian Flemming, project man- ager of the CINES study on local systems, another factor is important too: Solutions for integrating energy systems in districts have the potential to increase citizen participation in the energy transition. “Tenants often don’t feel connected to the photovoltaic system on their roof or the wind turbine they can see outside, because they feel like others are making money from those systems while their own energy costs are increasing,” explains Mr. Flem- ming. “If they recognize not just the envi- ronmental advantages, but also the mon- etary benefits, they will look at the pho- tovoltaics on the roof and the wind turbine up the street differently.” He goes on to point out that without acceptance from the German people, we will be unable to accelerate and implement the energy transition to the level required in order to achieve the German federal government’s climate targets. It will be up to legislators to take the intelligent district management solutions out of the living lab and into large-scale implementation. Without a suitable reg- ulatory framework, it will not be possible to scale up the technologies and business models. The landlord-to-tenant models currently used in Germany — where the landlord generates electricity locally from renewable energy sources and sells it to the tenant either directly or through an electricity provider — have proven “too complicated,” according to Mr. Flemming. The CINES study, however, has shown that investing in the integration of energy systems within districts makes sense on many levels, says Prof. Bretschneider. “We’ve shown how it can be done differ- ently, and more effectively.” o t o h p k c o t s i / a k n a r i P , z t r a H : o t o h P back to page 1 73

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine C limate change poses major challenges for agriculture. Heat, high winds and drought reduce the humus content of the soil, which is vital for plants to grow. The compacted earth is unable to store rainwater, which simply flows over the surface. Manure and digestate can provide new nutrients, of course. But without any available moisture, plant roots absorb very little of these nutrients, which in turn reduces agricultural yields. Biochar can “fundamentally improve soil structure,” says Antoine Dalibard of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart. This highly porous material contains many cavities. Similar to a sponge, it sucks up water and nutrients, stores them for a long period of time and provides them to the soil and plant roots when needed. “This improves growing conditions” and “builds up the humus layer” over the long term, explains Christopher Kick from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT. He warns against using charcoal on the fields in its pure form, however. It needs to be loaded with nutrients before its first use. Otherwise, it will suck away all nutri- ents from the plants. Formed at high heat Fraunhofer institutes IGB and UMSICHT have further developed the thermo- chemical conversion process in order to manufacture biochar. The process they both use is based on the following basic principle: Residual biomass is heated in an atmosphere without oxygen until it decomposes. A large proportion of the carbon remains in the solid matter, producing high-quality biochar. In the process, highly volatile components also rise with the water vapor, then cool down and condense. In this way, it is possible to isolate compounds contained in this “condensate soup,” such as oil, aromatic hydrocarbons, acetic acid and hydrogen. “Our goal is to obtain all the end prod- ucts in their purest possible form using additional separation processes,” explains Mr. Dalibard. The substances that can be obtained from the condensate depend on the pyrolysis procedure used. Mr. Dalibard is head of the expert group for thermal separation processes at Fraun- hofer IGB. To produce biochar, he and his team employ a process known as torrefac- tion, which uses superheated steam. This mild form of pyrolysis involves heating biowaste to a maximum of 300 degrees Celsius in two stages. Biochar can “fundamentally improve soil structure.” Antoine Dalibard, Fraunhofer IGB During the first stage, most of the water contained in the organic material evapo- rates (a process called steam drying). The actual torrefaction takes place during the second stage. The energy invested can be easily recovered by using superheated steam, explains Mr. Dalibard, who holds a doctorate in engineering. Thanks to this closed-loop production system, there are also no emissions and no issues with odors. The biochar can be easily stored outdoors, and it doesn’t mold. At Fraunhofer UMSICHT in Sulzbach- Rosenberg, Bavaria, Mr. Kick is known as the “biochar guy.” The environmental engineer leads the Processing Thermochem- ical Conversion Products research group. Their research also includes the project InterPyro, which investigates possible uses for the carbonaceous solid. The charcoal is manufactured using thermo-catalytic reforming (TCR), a medium-speed form of pyrolysis where biowaste is processed for longer than in torrefaction. The temperature is also higher overall. During the initial stage, pre-shredded residual materials are carbonized at 450 degrees Celsius in an anaerobic atmosphere. During the second stage, the biochar itself functions “as a kind of catalyst,” according to Mr. Kick, who also holds a doctorate in engineering. The bio- char falls into a container “heated to 700 degrees Celsius.” The pyrolysis gases are then funneled through this hot bed of charcoal, further improving the quality of the resulting pyrolysis products. Soil as a carbon sink Rotting organic waste usually releases methane and carbon dioxide. Biochar, on the other hand, is only broken down very slowly by microorganisms. This means the carbon it contains is stored in the soil over a long period of time. Experts call this a carbon sink. The charcoal’s man- ufacturing process determines how long it remains stable. When produced using torrefaction, it can endure in the soil for hundreds of years; when produced using pyrolysis, it can even last for thousands of years. Applying biochar to arable land can not only improve soil quality, but stores the greenhouse gas CO2 long-term in the ground as carbon, too. The residual biomass used to produce the charcoal must be pollutant-free and no longer usable for food production. Examples include residual wood from forestry, organic waste, digestate from biogas plants, green cuttings and horse manure. The starting material and pyrolysis process used can change the composition of the biochar, however, meaning that “we might end up with a different product,” explains Mr. Dalibard. Therefore, the researchers need to check at the end of every process whether the resulting product is suitable for use in soil. Additionally, the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) points out that “negative effects on soil functioning” must be “ruled out.” A quality seal could help here — for instance, the European Biochar Certificate (EBC), which is a voluntary industry standard. “We’re working on this at the moment,” says Mr. Kick. The aim is to facilitate “a decentralized loop, where waste material that is no longer needed is turned into a product that can be used to make the soil fertile again.” The processes used by Fraunhofer IGB and Fraunhofer UMSICHT can not only be easily combined, but are also ready to make the leap to industrial use. a p d / l e x i p y r t n u o C : o t o h P back to page 1 75

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine The way many people would like to see the ruler in the Kremlin: There are many fake images in online circulation of Putin behind bars. A photo of the hipster pope in a stylish puffer jacket went viral. The only things that give it away as a fake are the cross, which is only hanging from the chain on one side, and a hand that looks unnatural — a common flaw in AI-generat- ed images. Nowadays, images generated using artificial intelligence are extremely difficult to recognize as fake. These give fake news more credibility — and increases its reach. Images of Donald Trump supposedly being arrested made the rounds on social media back in March. US journalist Eliot Higgins created and published these in connection with legal cases involving Trump before a New York court. back to page 1 77 j i 5 V y e n r u o d M g n i s u d e t a r e n e g l l a / v a l s z ě t í V a n i l a M d n a s n g g H t o i i i l E , r e i v a X o b a P l : s o t o h P

Marine farming is impacting water quality. Scientists hope to change that with a new system. NORWAY Sustainable aquaculture In the WeBoat project, researchers from Norway, Belgium and Germany are working on an environmentally friendly technology for cleaning contaminated waste water from salmon farms. To combat lice, farm-bred salmon are treated with drugs. This procedure is carried out in vessels known as well- boats — ships with seawater tanks that have an average capacity of 3,000 cubic meters. At the end of the delousing operation, the polluted waste water is poured back out into the sea. In the future, however, the delous- ing agents will be neutralized on board the ship by means of a filtration and UV radiation treatment process lasting sev- eral hours. To help construct the water treatment system, the Fraunhofer Insti- tute for Ceramic Technologies and Sys- tems IKTS is developing nanoplasmonic optical biosensors. These have a spe- cially adapted surface that makes them highly sensitive to the delousing agent, so that they react with it specifically; this makes it possible to detect the agent and measure its concentration. Real-time monitoring ensures that only waste water that has been tested for and is clear of medication traces is returned to the surrounding seas. AUSTRIA Reducing polystyrene waste Expanded polystyrene, better known as Styrofoam or EPS, is up to 100 percent recyclable. In Austria, around one quar- ter of polystyrene construction materi- als and half of polystyrene packaging is currently recycled — however, it is mostly used as a bulk material, for smoothing out and insulating uneven floors, for example. Researchers from Fraunhofer Austria are working with twelve partners in project EPSolutely to bring about a significant increase in the volume of recycled EPS and to put it into use in new polystyrene products. One key focus area for the project Construction has to become more climate-friendly — and using recycled materials could help. relates to heavily contaminated construc- tion polystyrene that is also loaded with the flame retardant HBCD. The research team succeeded in almost entirely sepa- rating the EPS from the foreign compo- nents. CreaSolv, a solvent-based recy- cling process developed by the Fraun- hofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, can be used to dis- solve the HBCD so that the polystyrene recyclate can be fully recovered. 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine ITALY AI lends a hand with restoration If only we could see the long-vanished pigments on ancient statues or the true colors of faded historic textiles and paintings — that is the dream motivating researchers in the EU project PERCEIVE, which is focusing on preserving the origi- nal coloring of artworks or making what used to be there visible. The Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD is developing an artificial intelli- gence (AI) system that can reconstruct the color scheme of an artwork, show how it has changed over the course of the centuries and predict what it will look like in the future. The AI is trained on data relating to materials and surface textures, historical coloration changes and chemical and physical properties of pigments. It can even guess how the art- work and its colors will look under differ- ent incidences of light. The research proj- ect was launched with a kickoff event in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The goal of the project is to coor- dinate and optimize art maintenance across Europe. The AI will also be used to enhance virtual exhibitions. What did this statue of Aphrodite (National Archaeological Museum Naples) originally look like? back to page 1 79 . 0 3 A S - Y B C C / l e b a K s a h t t a M i , s o t o h p k c o t s i l l a / o t o f i p e p , i n e r e t n D n a v s e u q c a J , 6 8 n n i s f r a h c S , l d e f n e k r i B e t t e n n A : s o t o h P

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine To investigate the flow of data among a large number of communicating parties, the Fraunhofer researchers have established an analysis and test environment. This platform for testing the integration of complex heterogeneous systems allows actual vehicles or troops to be connected to simulated systems during large-scale tactical exercises. Dr. Ota describes how it works: “There is no need to bring an entire company to the training ground for exer- cises; instead, training can take place using a single group of tanks, for example, that are supplemented with simulated units — this ultimately generates a complete tactical exercise scenario, essentially.” Researchers are continuing to test the interopera- bility of newly developed devices, such as drones or vehicular sensors, that will be integrated into future systems. The team at Fraunhofer FKIE is also working together with partners on various international stan- dards, including C2SIM (Command and Control Systems — Simulation Systems Interoperation) and MIP (Multilateral Interoperability Programme). While MIP ensures a common interface for exchanging information between the command and control sys- tems of all participants, C2SIM connects command and control to simulation systems. Project manager Magdalena Dechand explains: “The underlying idea is to use simulations to test the interoperability of interfaces in command and control systems. Later on, the simulation systems are simply removed. In real- life situations, the command and control systems then behave exactly as they did during earlier testing. This allows us to create functional solutions quickly and in a cost-effective way.” Decisions in stressful situations Technology and consistent standards are only one factor for success, however. There’s a good reason why the “E” in the institute acronym FKIE stands for ergonomics — the systems that display, evaluate and forward the complex flow of information must be easy to use, especially in stressful situations. The experts at Fraunhofer FKIE are focusing on reducing complexity: for example, C2SIM uses familiar con- cepts based on the MIP model. The human factor also plays a decisive role in relation to other aspects: When different NATO mem- ber states, each with their own security norms and interests, try to agree common standards and norms for communication and data exchange, it can be a real challenge. Dr. Ota says: “Often, finding a technically perfect solution is not the greatest challenge. The real issue is reaching a compromise that all partners gen- uinely accept and want to implement.” E I K F r e f o h n u a r F , e c n a i l l a e r u t c i p / R E K O R B e g a m i / l e o m s A a r g e i S : s o t o h P Internationally recognized: This German Federal Armed Forces sergeant’s rank patch also shows his NATO rank code and US insignia. back to page 1 81

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Photo & Fraunhofer More moors As a famous German poem laments, “How dreadful it is to go over the moor.” Peatlands don’t have a great public image. But the beliefs we hold about these mystical mummification sites are outdated, as moors have the power to save the climate: Although they only cover 3 percent of the Earth’s surface, they store a third of its terrestrial carbon. Every year, peat lands draw up to 250 million tons of the green- house gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, in Germany, up to 98 percent of the peat land that once existed has been drained and is now mainly used for agriculture. This allows oxygen to come into contact with the carbon stored in the peat turf, which leads to the carbon dioxide being released along with nitrous oxide, an even more environmentally damaging gas. Drained moors are responsible for over 40 percent of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Rewetting former peat lands is part of the German federal government’s Nationalen Moor- schutzstrategie (national peat land strategy), which was adopted in 2022. However, rewilding measures such as this mean that important agricultural land is lost. For this reason, the Fraunhofer institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV and the Fraunhofer Institute for Graphics Research IGD are researching ways to make use of paludi- culture, i.e., plants that grow on moors, as part of the Biogenic Value Creation and Smart Farming initiative. In order to make plants such as reeds and cattails into a material for biobased packaging, the scientists are analyzing these plants, develop- ing processing methods, investigating how they interact with other raw materials and carrying out material testing — all in the hope that rewil- ding former peat lands will pay dividends for both agriculture and the climate. And that soon, we’ll see more hauntingly beautiful moors again. . e d h c i e r r e d l i b , h c i e R s a m o h T : s : o o t t o o h h P P back to page 1 83

3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine the cash withdrawal points that would be most crucial in the event of an emergency, as well as the best possible methods for supplying cash. “Mathematical optimization enables us to take a structured approach to a decision-making prob- lem. If you include all the relevant data, you end up with the optimal solution,” explains Ms. Brouer. She illustrates this with an example: “Imagine you want to figure out how to pack your backpack in the most optimal way. For this you need data about your backpack, such as its volume and weight capacity, as well as data about the various items that you want to pack — their purpose, size and weight, for example. You have various options available — such as packing items A and B or items B and C — but there is only one optimal solution, i.e., a packed backpack that offers maximum usability.” In terms of cash withdrawal points, mathe- matical optimization means the algorithm can choose which ATMs need to work in a crisis from all the infinite possibilities. Stakeholders are then “People don’t just hoard toilet paper in a crisis, but cash too.” Laura Brouer, Fraunhofer IIS supplied with a map that provides information on which ATMs should be supplied with cash as a priority and/or operated using emergency power generators. The role of a central data directory Working with a comprehensive, high-quality database is crucial: “To decide which ATMs should have priority, you first need to know which ones exist, and where they are. However, there is no central directory yet,” the scientist explains. Her team therefore relied on OpenStreetMap (OSM), a publicly accessible database where geodata is collected and structured by contributors. There’s just one downside: The quality of the data depends on how diligent the OSM community is in maintaining the information. However, Ms. Brouer is hopeful that she will be able to use more reliable data in the foreseeable future, as Deutsche Bundesbank is currently working on a central ATM database. back to page 1 85 i l e r u t c i p n a p / g r e b e g g ü R s i d r o h T , o t o h p k c o t s i / 4 7 d a W l : s o t o h P

Fraunhofer on the road Düsseldorf Frankfurt Nuremberg Munich 3 | 23 Fraunhofer magazine Düsseldorf November 13–16, 2023 MEDICA International trade fair for medical engineering Düsseldorf November 13–16, 2023 COMPAMED International trade fair for the medical technology supplier sector Munich September 5–8, 2023 IAA Mobility (Summit) International conference on the future of mobility Nuremberg October 10–12, 2023 it-sa Trade fair and congress for information security Frankfurt am Main November 7–10, 2023 Formnext International trade fair for additive manufacturing technologies Fraunhofer magazine The magazine for people shaping the future Would you like to get the Fraunhofer magazine in your mailbox as soon as it comes out — for free? Order it online directly at https://s.fhg.de/of 3 2 3 e n i z a g a m r e f o h n u a r F 3 2 | 3 Sovereignty from space 200 satellites to increase security Better plastics From environmental crime to biosynthetics Dr. Benedikt Hauer, Fraunhofer IPM Perilous pest New solutions for the fight against mosquitoes “We need even more research!” An interview with German Minister for the Environment Steffi Lemke back to page 1 87 2 | 23Kevin Bregler of Fraunhofer IPA developed the CURT robot (left). Food: Supplying the futureOne metaverse, many opportunities — how digital twins are already changing the industry sector“Potential for new value creation is everywhere.”An interview with Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union of GermanySavor in safety1 | 23Sustainable driving Energy from car roofsAI in medicine:speeding up the healing process“We need more investment in the digital transformation!”An interview with Judith Gerlach, Germany’s first minister for digital affairsPaging Dr. DataCutting construction costsHigh prices, worker short- ages — is construc tion ready for robots?Sina Mackay, data scientist at Fraunhofer IAIS