Press

In many areas of life, petroleum-based plastics are being replaced with biobased and biodegradable plastics. This also applies to microcapsules, which are used, for example, to encapsulate fragrances in detergents or cosmetics. Although the biobased plastics are produced from renewable raw materials and supposed to be biodegradable per se, they often have to be chemically modified in order to improve materials’ durability, for example. But to what extent are these modified biobased microcapsules still biodegradable? A team of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP is focusing on this question.

The research project WiSA big data ("Wind farm virtual Site Assistant for O&M decision support - advanced methods for big data analysis") launched in the beginning of December is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) with a total of 2.6 million Euros over a period of three years. Within the framework of WiSA big data, scientists and partners from industry are analyzing large amounts of high-resolution operating data of wind turbines. New and advanced analysis methods will help to detect malfunctions in the operation of wind turbines at an early stage and to optimize the maintenance of the turbines.

Dr. Hatem Abushammala is the fourth Wilhelm Klauditz Fellow of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI. From August 2017 until March 2020, the materials scientist is conducting his research project at the Fraunhofer WKI in Braunschweig on the preparation of electrically conductive nanoparticles using renewable materials. In addition to his research as a Fellow, he is leading an international research project.

Renewable energy sources like solar cells (photovoltaics) and wind turbines require large-scale energy storage systems to balance out fluctuations in energy generation. Redox-flow batteries (RFBs) are considered to be one of the most promising solutions. RFBs store and release energy as electrons are swapped between two chemical reactants, via an electric conductor. The wide range of electroactive substances available – many of which occur in nature – means that vast numbers of potential redox-flow systems remain to be explored.

In the future, novel polymers should make it possible to individually manufacture artificial elastic tissue replacements for pericardium, heart valves or blood vessels. In the PolyKARD project, biomimetic polymers are being developed that can imitate the mechanical properties of pericardial tissue. Using 3D printing and electrospinning, these polymers will be used to produce tailor-made implants. In addition, a 3D printer that can produce class III medical products is to be developed for the first time. The PolyKARD partners - AdjuCor GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute, Young Optics Europe GmbH and pro3dure medical GmbH - plan to advance the production of the implants until the first clinical studies, probably in 2022.

Individually manufactured and still suitable for mass production? Cost pressures on the one hand and demand for individualized products on the other require new flexible production processes and materials with individual functionality. The Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC is working on sustainable material concepts and processing technologies that are scalable, variable and efficient – in order to meet "mass production with lot size one" and to enable small, variable and efficient manufacturing units. At this year's NANOTECH in Tokyo, examples from three different work areas of the Fraunhofer ISC will be shown.

A research team from the Fraunhofer Society and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) led by chemist Volker Sieber has developed a new polyamide family which can be produced from a byproduct of cellulose production – a successful example for a more sustainable economy with bio-based materials. The work was recently published in Nature Communications.

High-performance, long-lasting energy storage devices are crucially important for many future-oriented technologies: e.g. for electromobility, for mobile end devices such as tablets and smartphones as well as for the efficient use of energy from renewable sources. Dr. Daniel Mutter from the Freiburg-based Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials (IWM) was able to clarify what the chemical composition of solid ceramic electrolytes should be in order to ensure good performance in lithium-ion batteries. The research was published in the Journal of Applied Physics (https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5091969). Such solid electrolytes are more environmentally friendly than traditional liquid electrolytes and could make lithium-ion batteries significantly safer and more efficient.

Erlangen: Fully automated and autonomous vehicles should be able to respond appropriately in every situation. Together with partners in the "KI-FLEX" project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is developing a platform that uses artificial intelligence methods to help measure vehicle position and determine vehicle environment in the future.

Energy storage systems are of crucial importance to all sectors of industry involved in the energy and mobility transition. The idea behind Germany’s ‘Forschungsfertigung Batteriezelle’ is to create a development center for battery cell production that will serve the whole of Germany. Known by its German abbreviation FFB, the new battery cell research facility will close the current gap in the value chain of primary and rechargeable batteries and eliminate the need to depend on other markets. The project team, which consists of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and its research partners, is now embarking on the first steps to put the FFB concept into practice at the chosen location of Münster in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.