Press and Media

It's all about high-tech dentures, prostheses that autonomously detect inflammatory reactions in the body, or individually adapted seats for wheelchairs. A German-Polish Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft High-Performance Center is researching new technologies for the use of 3D printing processes, known as additive manufacturing technology, in medical technology. For Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, it is one of two international High-Performance Centers launched in March that are explicitly dedicated to cross-organizational cooperation. The Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden and the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Chemnitz are involved in the »Additive Technologies for Medicine and Health« (ATeM) Center on the German side. They cooperate with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (CAMT) at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing financial support for the project.

The region of Lusatia has the expertise needed to create innovations and jobs in the hydrogen economy. The Saxon state government and the German federal government are confident of this. For that reason, they are jointly funding the newly established Fraunhofer Hydrogen Lab Görlitz (HLG) with over 42 million euros. With the HLG, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is establishing an internationally unique research platform. From the end of 2022, novel technologies for generating, storing and using hydrogen along the entire hydrogen value chain can be developed and tested in Görlitz for fuel cells. This will strengthen the region in its structural transformation, as it will allow companies to settle there or develop further to benefit from the future market of hydrogen through technological leadership. The HLG will be located at the Siemens Energy Innovation Campus, where Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer and the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier visited the future construction site of the hydrogen test laboratory together with other guests today.

In the scope of a future-oriented collaboration in the field of industrial production, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is cooperating with the VSB – Technical University of Ostrava (VSB-TUO). The partners research and develop the potential offered by energy management technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent production in industry. The collaboration provides production companies with innovative solutions, which they can in turn use to develop innovative and sustainable solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Fuel cells have huge potential, but there are not yet any clear structures and standards surrounding their manufacture. The huge number of options when it comes to production technologies makes it challenging for users or potential users to maintain an overview in their mind and to select the right production process to suit their needs. To help overcome this problem, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT are developing a virtual technology toolkit. This toolkit will help users to make the best production decisions when manufacturing fuel cells by enabling them to select the forming technology for bipolar plates that is most appropriate to the specific application.

Saxony's application for the establishment of the national hydrogen technology center was convincing in the first round of the nationwide competition – Now the final phase begins, in which the remaining three applicants will compete in feasibility studies.

Fraunhofer researchers have developed an innovative process for the initial testing of sheet metal in production systems. The process involves combining tried and proven load tests with an AI software solution. Even before the first machining step, the software creates a prediction about how the material will behave during production and gauges whether it will meet quality require-ments. This drastically reduces the risk of failure and amount of scrap.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is restructuring its areas of research to meet industry’s challenges better. Since the beginning of 2021, the »Fraunhofer Alliance Additive Manufacturing« has continued its cooperative work as »Fraunhofer Competence Field Additive Manufacturing«.

The federal hydrogen technology center will be established in Saxony – this is the goal for both state politicians and an alliance of Saxon companies, organizations, research institutions, and universities. Today they presented their joint concept for the »HIC – Hydrogen and Mobility Innovation Center« in Chemnitz. The center could begin its work there as early as this year because the location is already a place of research and transfer for hydrogen technologies as well as fuel cell vehicle drives. Numerous research projects with funding from the state, federal, and EU governments are proof of this. A technology campus has also already been fully developed. The HIC would consolidate the existing structures with a state-of-the-art vehicle laboratory, an extensive hydrogen certification center, test benches for fuel cells, and an advanced training center at an international level. Medium-sized companies will be able to develop and certify new products there in order to profit from the future market of hydrogen – also in global competition with Japan, China, or the USA. Saxony's Economics Minister Martin Dulig, Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow, and Chemnitz Mayor Sven Schulze strongly support the application. The HIC is also backed by the innovation cluster HZwo e.V., Chemnitz University of Technology and the TU Dresden, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft as well as BMW Leipzig, the automotive supplier Vitesco Technologies, and many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on which a total of around 10 000 jobs depend.

How can individualized luxury mobility be designed for the world of the year 2040? A world that will be driven by the idea of a circular economy and products with significantly longer lives. A world that will also be characterized by the desire for individual and quickly evolving lifestyles. How can the maximum level of driving comfort be achieved between these two polar opposites? To answer these questions, an interdisciplinary research team made up of experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, and the Fraunhofer for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut, WKI, has developed »Vision PI«, a modular futuristic mobility concept.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU has appointed Professor Martin Dix as a new director. Since October 1, 2020, he has been leading the Scientific Field of »Machine Tools, Production Systems and Machining« at Fraunhofer IWU. At the same time, Professor Dix assumes the Professorship for »Production Systems and Processes« at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Chemnitz University of Technology.