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Fuel cells convert hydrogen into electrical energy, providing a locally CO₂-free power source for heavy-duty trucks, rail vehicles, ships, automobiles, and aircraft. Starting in October 2025, Fraunhofer IWU will be able to thoroughly test fuel cells and fuel cell systems on behalf of its industrial clients and project partners. The purpose of such testing is to characterize and evaluate performance, durability, reliability, and other critical properties under various operating conditions. Also under scrutiny will be essential components like cooling units, water separators, pumps, sensors, humidifiers, and heat exchangers. The team led by Dr. Carmen Meuser has a clear goal: to accelerate the ramp-up of fuel cell manufacturing.

Trade show debut for the start-up Botfellows GmbH: Since September 2024, the spin-off from Fraunhofer IWU has been advancing the development of innovative robotics software as an independent company. The focus is on the intelligent solution Botfellows Dynamic Safety, which is directly integrated into robot control systems and replaces physically fenced-off workspaces between humans and (industrial) robots with dynamic safety zones. At automatica, visitors can experience a live demonstration featuring an industrial robot operating without safety fences, thus ensuring outstanding productivity.

The first relatively compact, transportable quantum computer in Saxony – and one of the first in the world to operate at room temperature – has been up and running since June 11 at Fraunhofer IWU’s Dresden institute. The IWU will primarily use the new 4-qubit quantum computer system to further develop Industry 4.0 solutions aimed at self-regulating, human-learning (cognitive) production systems. Thanks to the institute’s close ties to manufacturing sectors such as automotive, aerospace, and mechanical and plant engineering, industrial partners will also stand to benefit.

Focusing on self-optimizing systems, flexible and adaptable factories, human involvement in production, and agile process chains, the 17 institutes of the Fraunhofer autoMOBILproduction Alliance are strong industrial partners. At automatica, the Alliance will present clever automation solutions, including quality assurance, hands-on VR and AR applications, and highly robust sensor systems for process control.

The Chemnitz Research Institute presents the ESiP Analyzer – an analysis tool for energy storage applications in production (ESiP). The tool enables technical and economic evaluation of potential uses for energy storage systems in factories. Its goal is to identify energy storage opportunities with minimal effort and to simplify the design and integration of storage solutions. The ESiP Analyzer focuses on two key areas: reducing power peaks at both the machine and factory levels, and enabling intermediate storage of renewable energy.

Passenger aircraft doors are still primarily manufactured by hand. A particularly time-consuming aspect is assembling the door structures using screws and rivets. Numerous intermediate steps are required to prevent direct contact between different materials—which would otherwise lead to corrosion. However, replacing aluminum, titanium, and thermosets with primarily thermoplastic carbon fiber composites (CFRP), which can be welded together automatically without separating layers, makes the process much faster. Manufacturing time for the door structure drops from 110 hours to just 4. A research project by Fraunhofer IWU, Fraunhofer LBF, Trelleborg, and Airbus Helicopters has shown this clearly.

Fraunhofer IWU and the TU Bergakademie Freiberg have achieved a breakthrough in steel casting technology. Their development of a cold-formable, copper-alloyed austenitic steel cast with TRIP/TWIP properties marks a milestone in material science. It also opens up entirely new perspectives for safety-critical applications. The new alloy offers an unprecedented combination of strength and ductility: it is highly load-bearing and can still undergo plastic deformation.

Who does not know the struggle? Whether several hundred pages of car manuals or extensive legal texts, picking out crucial information is often time-consuming. And will you come across all the relevant entries? A glossary that does not know the search term and countless cross-references make things even more difficult. Such trouble could soon be a thing of the past: A team at Fraunhofer IWU is now helping an AI solution by "feeding" it with extensive technical and legal texts. The team prepares the external input so that search queries (prompts) lead to precise and exhaustive information. Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) makes this possible.

To survive in global competition over the long term, companies have to be efficient, cost-effective and use resources wisely in their production operations. AI-based monitoring and control of production based on ECC4P (Edge Cloud Continuum for Production) offers medium-sized businesses customized solutions with comprehensive data security from a single source. The research team will be presenting their solutions at the joint Fraunhofer booth at this year’s Hannover Messe trade show.

More specifically, they store electricity generated from solar and wind power in the form of hydrogen (electrolysis) – for extended periods if needed. "Storable" green electricity would be a significant advancement: Today, unused electricity is sometimes given away to neighboring countries on weekends to prevent overloads in the power grid. Conversely, as autonomous energy networks in a compact format, microgrids bridge periods of low energy production, known as "dark doldrums," when there is no wind or sunshine. Fuel cells in the grid then convert the stored hydrogen back into electricity. Thus, these grids are ideally suited for local energy networks and can fit into offshore containers.