Press | Media

Nuremberg: Loose screws at important connection points constitute a considerable safety risk. The research center IoT-COMMs – part of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Internet Technologies CCIT – has developed an intelligent screw connection which enables wireless, energy-autonomous monitoring. A thin-film sensor thereby measures both the forces acting on the screw connection and changes in the ambient temperature at the installation site. Via the standardized mioty^® wireless protocol, the screw regularly transmits load data for control purposes. The aim is the realization of an energy-autonomous monitoring of bridges, scaffolding, wind-power plants and similar structures through permanent long-term surveillance. The solution will be presented for the first time during the Fraunhofer Solution Days from 26^th - 29^th October 2020.

On 30^th September 2020, Prof. Dr. Günter Bräuer's active term as Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST came to an end.

The Wasserstoff-Campus (hydrogen campus) in Salzgitter is gathering speed: Today, a cooperation agreement was signed by the city of Salzgitter, Salzgitter AG, MAN Energy Solutions, Bosch, Alstom, WEVG, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films, and the Projektbüro Südostniedersachsen, in which the Amt für regionale Landesentwicklung (office for regional state development) and the Allianz für die Region GmbH (alliance for the region) pool their resources.

As a predominantly arid country, South Africa faces the enormous challenge of managing existing resources sustainably. In addition to the scarce water resources, South Africa also faces energy shortages within a system that is dominated by fossil fuel generation, as well as challenges with regard to food security. Stellenbosch University and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have now established the “Fraunhofer Innovation Platform for the Water-Energy-Food Nexus at Stellenbosch University“ as part of a strategic partnership. The objective of this long-term cooperation is to jointly develop tailored technological and cross-sectoral solutions for water, energy and food security – for the benefit of people and the environment.

The German government wants to sustainably strengthen battery research in Germany along the entire value chain, to accelerate the transfer into industrial applications and to support the development of battery-cell production in Germany. Within the framework of the umbrella concept “Forschungsfabrik Batterie” (Battery Research Factory), four new competence clusters will contribute towards this. The Fraunhofer IST is introducing its competencies in the field of life cycle engineering into the “Recycling and green batteries” cluster.

The corona pandemic presents major challenges for society, the economy and science. The common goal must be to find a way out of the crisis as quickly as possible, whereby the protection of humans must remain the number one priority. The scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST in Braunschweig are also making an important contribution by means of their developments, the activation of their networks, the evolvement of their project ideas and their support of the economy and society in coping with direct effects and subsequent consequences. A number of projects are thereby being funded directly by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft using internal resources within the framework of the central action program “Fraunhofer vs. corona”.

Hydrogen plays a key role in the search for future energy sources that reduce CO₂ emissions and provide a stable energy supply. The joint project “Neo-PEC“ therefore aims to develop a tandem module that will be able to produce green hydrogen in a clean and cost-effective manner, thus enabling a decentralized hydrogen supply using an energy carrier which is transportable according to demand. With the help of the module, water is directly split into hydrogen and oxygen by photo-catalytic means (Photo Electro-Catalytic (PEC) Water Splitting). This novel technology does not require expensive electrolyzers and is scalable as required. For the three-year project “Neo-PEC“, 3.4 million euros are being made available to the participating partners Fraunhofer IKTS, IST and CSP within the framework of the Fraunhofer internal funding program PREPARE.

With the EOSS^® (Enhanced Optical Sputtering System) coating platform developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, highly sophisticated optical coatings can be produced, e.g. for optical filters. In addition to almost defect-free layers, complicated layer designs comprised of up to several hundred individual layers can be realized in a controlled manner with very high precision and uniformity.

More than 100 million people in Southern Africa still have no access to clean water. Especially in rural areas, many streams, lakes or other natural sources are heavily polluted. Together with nine other European and African partners, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST has developed a decentralized water-purification system in order to change this.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has founded a hydrogen network - which now also includes the Fraunhofer IST, represented by Dr.-Ing. Marko Eichler. The aim of the network is developing hydrogen technologies to market maturity within a short period of time and therefore providing a contribution towards the energy revolution.