Best wishes for 2025

As the year draws to a close, I would like to warmly invite you to join us for a look back over the past few months. For the Fraunhofer IST, the year 2024 was characterized by groundbreaking innovations, new partnerships and a strong focus on both sustainability and technology transfer.

We are particularly proud to be able to report on two international spin-offs this year. S Mile Solutions (Pty) Ltd, based in South Africa, offers innovative, network-independent infrastructure solutions for the healthcare sector. Integrative Nanotech Ltd, based in Canada, is – in collaboration with us – driving forward the development of new systems for the detection of hydrogen leaks.

Furthermore, we were able to intensify our partnership with Feng Chia University through the foundation of the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform. Together, we are working on pioneering surface and production technologies for optical and electrical systems in order to introduce them into industrial applications.

In Lower Saxony, we have driven forward the expansion of important centers of growth and our networking structures: We are delighted to welcome new members to the Wasserstoff Campus Salzgitter, and in Braunschweig, the new building for our Fraunhofer Center for Energy Storage and Systems ZESS is progressing rapidly. In Wolfsburg, at the Fraunhofer CCEM, we are working in close collaboration with the TU Braunschweig and Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences on the development of technologies for a sustainable automotive circular economy. Together with our partners at the Open Hybrid LabFactory OHLF location, we are developing a Campus Wolfsburg which will unite research, teaching, further education and industrial application, thereby offering an ecosystem for start-ups.

Competencies in sustainability management and Life Cycle Engineering are key success factors for the transformation of businesses. We have therefore expanded our range of further education and services in order to provide targeted support for businesses in this field. “Think green - act smart” is not just the title of the training course, but also an appeal that will continue to resonate with us in the coming year.

I would like to thank all our partners from business, science and politics – and, of course, all our employees – for their trust and the excellent cooperation. Let us continue to mutually implement innovative ideas and, as a consequence, to shape our future more sustainably. In this spirit, I sincerely wish you and your family a joyful festive season and all the very best for 2025.

Christoph Herrmann