Press releases

Bio-based carbon fibers, flexible OLED displays, rubber for tires with reduced abrasion, artificial corneas and much more - the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP is celebrating 30 years of successful material and process developments. Today, the institute plays a key role in shaping future topics such as bioeconomy, energy transition, mobility and personalized medicine. On September 1, 2022, the institute celebrated its 30th anniversary with a festive colloquium at the Fraunhofer Conference Center in the Potsdam Science Park with renowned guests from politics, business and science.

The Polymer Group has established another subsidiary, SoBiCo GmbH (Solutions in BioCompounds). The focus of activities is on flexible PLA copolymers, a novel class of bioplastics marketed under the name Plactid®. The successful development is the result of several years of collaboration between the Polymer Group and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, which was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. On July 5, 2022, the commissioning of the first production line in Pferdsfeld was celebrated with 150 guests.

If breast cancer is suspected, doctors carry out a biopsy. However, this is invasive, painful and costly. It also takes several days to get the results. In the future, diagnosis could be made via a liquid biopsy of a patient’s blood — a gentle, cost-effective method that would deliver the results within just a few hours. A team of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP is working alongside partners on this innovative method.

Synthetic rubber has been produced and constantly optimized since the beginning of the 20th century. Nevertheless, its mechanical properties cannot compete with those of natural rubber. Natural rubber, for example, is characterized by an unprecedented strain-induced crystallization. In the research project "BISYKA", a team of Fraunhofer researchers succeeded in identifying relevant causes and successfully transferring them to synthetic rubber. At the German Rubber Conference in Nuremberg from June 27 to 30, the team will present how they managed to reduce abrasion without the tires losing their grip or low rolling resistance.

In the case of serious soft tissue injuries, tissue transplantation is sometimes unavoidable. For the patient, however, this means a serious intervention. In the future, the missing tissue could grow directly in the patient's body - in isolation chambers that can be implanted under the skin and individually adapted to the wound geometry. The 3D-printed chambers developed by the research team from the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research IAP and for Laser Technology ILT as well as the BG Klinik Ludwigshafen will be presented at the MEDICA medical technology trade fair in Düsseldorf from November 15 to 18 in Hall 3, Booth E74.

Numerous plastic products are made of polyurethanes. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a manufacturing method for polyurethanes that avoids use of toxic isocyanates while making use of carbon dioxide as a starting material. Polyurethanes of a reproducible standard are being developed in collaboration with partners from industry.

Printed polymers that change shape once in a predefined way when heated? This is now possible thanks to a 4D printing technology developed in the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Programmable Materials CPM. The extent of the change in shape of the printed objects is drastic: they can shrink by up to 63 percent. In the future, 4D manufacturing technologies could be used to produce parts that exhibit a specific behavior only after they take their predefined shape, for example as fasteners in the assembly of components in the medical technology, mechanical engineering, automotive and aviation industries.

How can viruses be effectively eliminated from indoor air? This question is now becoming more important as fall approaches. Efficient indoor air purification is essential, especially in schools. Fraunhofer researchers are investigating and optimizing various filter and air purification techniques in the AVATOR project.

Fuel cells are typically applied to generate electrical energy from hydrogen or methanol. Nanoscale catalysts get the process going - but until now, the quality of these materials has varied significantly. The CAN research division of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP eliminated these problems: With an optimized catalyst and continuous, reproducible production process with very good control over the material properties.

Counterfeit-proof product protection and resilient supply chains are the goals of the Fraunhofer SmartID project. The Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research IAP, for Secure Information Technology SIT and for Open Communication Systems FOKUS are developing a novel marking system that can determine the authenticity of products via smart devices even while being offline, i.e. without access to a database. SmartID will be embedded in existing track & trace infrastructures and can be printed on products or their packaging using commercially available printing processes.