Press Releases

The focus of this year’s Hannover Messe (April 17-21) will be on technologies to promote climate-neutral and networked industry. The digitization of production processes generates efficiency gains in many areas, and with efficiency being the key to greater sustainability, Fraunhofer IPA will be exhibiting technologies that save both energy and resources.

Fraunhofer IPA is working with ten project partners on the “Desire4Electronics” project to advance research into automated disassembly processes for the remanufacturing of small electrical appliances. The project runs from 2023 to 2025 and addresses 7 of the 17 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Until now, it has not been possible to additively manufacture sensors and other electronic devices in a single operation. However, a research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA has now succeeded in doing just that. The key to this achievement? Conductive plastics.

Today, genome editing is almost as easy as programming software. However, the generation of viral vectors as initial material is still associated with many expensive and error-prone handling procedures. Viruses are generated via complex biological processes that have to be optimised virus-specifically in order to produce high-quality therapeutics. A new method is needed that simplifies and optimises these processes.

Electromobility is causing an explosion in demand: Large-scale production of battery cells needs gigafactories, and these consume vast amounts of energy and raw materials. A research team at the Center for Digitized Battery Cell Production at Fraunhofer IPA has now investigated how digitization of manufacturing can not only optimize production processes and save materials and energy, but also extend battery service life.

31 well-known European research labs cooperate in the Network of Excellence euROBIN which is running from July 2022 until June 2026. Fraunhofer IPA is particularly involved in using robotics to reach one of the UN »Sustainable Development Goals«.

Fraunhofer IPA maintains close partnerships with research institutes and businesses in the Far East. On July 25, 2022, a collaboration with Sugino Machine Limited was officially launched during a symposium.

Sustainable, autonomous, intelligent, clean: From self-learning robots for use in fields and factories to state-of-the-art cleanroom technologies, methods for explaining machine learning and software tools for optimized production – Fraunhofer IPA will be showcasing a wealth of applications and services for automated production at automatica from 21 to 24 June 2022.

At OTWorld, the largest international trade fair with a specialist congress for manufacturers, retailers and service providers in the modern supply of prosthetics an orthotics, researchers are presenting an online course for interdisciplinary patient care. An international pilot project has shone a light on how rehab support for leg amputees can be improved.

Diesel generators often provide the local power supply in developing and emerging economies – emitting millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. To minimize these emissions in the future, a research team from Fraunhofer IPA, together with CBC GmbH & Co. KG and the University of Bayreuth, is currently developing an electricity generator that runs on hydrogen.