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A reduced risk of infection and, as a consequence, a decrease in new infections are goals that have become even more important during the Corona pandemic. One important factor thereby is the cleaning and disinfection of potentially contaminated surfaces. In the “MobDi - Mobile Disinfection” project, 12 Fraunhofer institutes collaborated on the development of new technical solutions for efficient and target-oriented robot-based disinfection. The Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST developed a modular plasma system which can be integrated into these types of mobile disinfection robots.

For the next generation of batteries, the utilization of a solid-state electrolyte presents a promising alternative. These offer a range of advantages in comparison to conventional lithium-ion batteries which utilize a liquid electrolyte. Solid-state electrolytes are, for example, considered non-flammable, cannot leak, and enable a substantial increase in energy and output density. Within the framework of the BMBF project “BiSSFest”, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST is working, in collaboration with project partners, on the production of safe and high-performance solid-state batteries.

Worldwide, the topic of sustainability is currently the focus of a wide variety of development processes. Due to the increasing use of batteries, e.g. in the automotive industry, the recycling of batteries, i.e. the recovery of battery materials, is also of great importance. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF is funding three joint projects on the 'Sustainable Battery', including the SUSTRAB project in which the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST is also involved.

We would like to congratulate Prof. Dr.-Ing. Arno Kwade, who has been presented with the Lower Saxony Science Award in the Research category. He received the award, which is endowed with 25,000 euros, for his work in the fields of pharmaceutical process engineering and battery cell technology and production. His achievements have, amongst other things, provided a major contribution towards the development of cost-effective and safe energy storage systems and, consequently, to the implementation of the energy revolution.

Within the framework of this year’s general meeting, the Arbeitgeberverband der Deutschen Kautschukindustrie (ADK – employers’ association of the German rubber industry) honored Dr. Marvin Omelan as one of the best graduates of the year for his doctorate in the field of applied polymer chemistry at Leibniz University Hannover.

Customized structures made of nanoparticles could be of great importance in many areas of application in the future. However, how do we succeed in stabilizing them? Sabrina Zellmer addressed this question as part of her doctoral thesis at the Institute for Particle Technology at the TU Braunschweig. The head of department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST has now been awarded the Manfred Hirschvogel Prize for her research.

The SafeWaterAfrica project not only improves drinking-water supplies in South Africa and Mozambique and protects the environment: The technologies for water treatment are the responsibility of first and foremost African companies, which strengthen the economy and employment in these countries. For this both ecological and economic success, the project under the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST in Braunschweig has been awarded the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label.

Architecture can prevent infections in hospitals. The walk-in model of a new type of patient room shows how this can be done. Developed by a team from the fields of architecture, medicine and molecular biology in the KARMIN research project. After the prototype was presented to the public last year on the grounds of the Charité in Berlin, the patient room is now to become an application-oriented research and study laboratory under the leadership of the Institute of Construction Design, Industrial and Health Care Building (IKE) of the TU Braunschweig, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST and the Braunschweig Municipal Hospital. The demonstrator will be built on an open area of the clinic at the site in Naumburgstraße.

Braunschweig continues to expand its strengths in the manufacture of individualized pharmaceutical products. For this purpose, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST and the Center of Pharmaceutical Engineering (PVZ) of the Technische Universität Braunschweig are cooperating for the first time.

Paper-based construction materials are an integral element of our everyday lives in the form of packaging materials. In order to make paper usable for these and new areas of application, the hydrophobic and antimicrobial properties of the material must be improved. In contrast to the processes currently employed for the modification of paper properties, plasma polymerization is to be used in the production process. This should enable low-molecular compounds of biogenic origin to be deposited on paper surfaces.