Press releases

For years, a French company sold breast implants made of cheap industrial silicone components. Headline news when it broke in 2010, this scandal is still keeping the courts busy today. Now, a research team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP has come up with a method to prevent this sort of fraud. It gives manufacturers the opportunity to counterfeit-proof implants – by tagging them with encapsulated tomato DNA.

By combining plastics with bio-components such as peptides, enzymes or sugar molecules, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP and BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg are developing polymer materials with new properties for a wide variety of applications. As part of a joint project group, their goal is to make the technical and industrial production of these materials possible. The Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg has allocated 2.5 million euros to fund the project for a duration of five years.

As part of the Fraunhofer lighthouse project »Electricity as a Raw Material«, ten Fraunhofer Institutes joined forces to develop new electrochemical processes for the synthesis of important base chemicals and to optimize existing processes. The lighthouse project started in August 2015 and runs until July 2018. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, the scientists developed a novel proton-conducting polymer membrane as part of the project.

Two impregnation systems and an industrial microwave for the energy-efficient production of fiber-reinforced lightweight components can now be combined with one another in a unique way at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Wildau. This is where the IAP research division PYCO will soon be pooling its entire expertise in lightweight construction. On June 8, 2018, the foundation stone for a new office and lab building was laid in Wildau in the presence of Dr. Martina Münch, Minister for Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg, Andreas Meuer, Member of the Board of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Stephan Loge, Chief Administrative Officer of the Dahme-Spreewald District and Prof. Dr. Ralf Raimund Vandenhouten, Vice President of Research and Transfer at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau.

There are videos on the internet that can make one marvel at technology. For example, a smartphone is casually bent around the arm or a thin-film display is rolled in all directions and with almost every diameter. From the user's point of view, this looks fantastic. From a professional point of view, however, the question arises: Is that already possible? At Display Week 2018, scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP will be demonstrating today’s technological possibilities and their next projects. Display Week is one of the world's leading display technology fairs and conventions, taking place from May 22 to 25 in Los Angeles.

The ComCarbon® technology from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP will make it possible in the future to produce carbon fibers at low cost for the mass market. The institute will present this new technology at the leading aerospace trade fair, the ILA Berlin 2018, from April 25 – 29. Examples of applications for polymer-based lightweight construction and function-integrated plastics will also be presented.

New inks for inkjet printers make it possible to print organic displays or solar cells on film and glass for the use in architecture, the textile industry and many other industries. These and other application examples of printed electronics will be presented by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP at Printed Electronics Europe in Berlin from April 11 to 12, 2018.

Imagine a jacket that produces enough electricity to charge your mobile phone. Imagine a jacket that does not only reflect, but light up itself when you ride your bike in the dark. Innovative printing solutions make future happen today. The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP presents different prototypes from photovoltaics research projects at the international exhibition and conference for the printed electronics industry LOPEC 2018 in Munich, March 13 to 15. First projects resulting from the German OLED Technology Alliance (GOTA) are being presented as well.

Microbial infections of the cornea can have serious consequences, including blindness in the worst case. The treatment of keratitis, a condition caused by certain pathogens, always presents major challenges to ophthalmologists. These corneal infections frequently cannot be successfully treated with the therapies currently available. Fraunhofer researchers are pursuing a new approach: contact lenses with germicidal properties could offer an alternative to conventional therapies. Initial tests in the laboratory and on donor corneas were successful.

"Exploring quantum materials - new ways to realize innovative optoelectronic components (ELQ-LED)" is the title of a joint project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with 5.5 million euros. The aim of the project is to develop quantum materials for innovative applications in the display and lighting industries. The total budget of the project amounts to 9.1 million euros.