Press releases

Industrial microwaves, used to produce carbon fiber-reinforced plastic components, are two of the core components of the technology center at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Wildau. On June 23, 2017 the IAP’s Polymer Materials and Composites PYCO Research Division is opening its doors here for the Long Night of Industry in the Dahme-Spreewald District.

Since 1992 the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam-Golm has been working with industry partners to advance polymer applications. One of 16 Fraunhofer Institutes, the IAP will present the highlights of its research work at an exhibition entitled »25 years of Fraunhofer in the New Federal States«. It will be on display as part of the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Fraunhofer Institutes at the International Congress Center in Dresden from May 29 – 31.

The High-Performance Center »Integration of Biological and Physical-Chemical Material Functions« opens on April 26, 2017. The event will take place at the Fraunhofer Conference Center in Postdam-Golm and be attended by Brandenburg’s minister president, Dr. Dietmar Woidke, and Professor Alexander Kurz, executive vice-president for human resources, legal affairs and IP management at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The aim of the Center is to manufacture products with integrated material functions using the fewest process steps possible. The Center is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP and the Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses Branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI-BB.

Professor Johannes Ganster was appointed to "Biopolymers and Plastic Processing" at BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg. The head of the »Biopolymers« research division at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam–Golm assumes office on Friday, April 21 with an official inaugural lecture in Senftenberg entitled "Plastics and elastomers from renewable raw materials – vision, fantasy or reality?".

The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam and three other German companies have been commissioned by a Chinese producer to develop an OLED production facility for its site in China. The four development partners have formed the consortium GOTA - German OLED Technology Alliance – in order to develop, under one roof, the materials and technologies needed for printed electronics and machine engineering. The Fraunhofer IAP will present its know-how in the field of printed electronics at LOPEC, the international exhibition for printed electronics, which will be held in Munich from March 29 – 30, 2017.

Four German partners have joined forces in the newly founded German OLED Technology Alliance (GOTA): VON ARDENNE GmbH from Dresden, MBRAUN Inertgas-Systeme GmbH in Garching, Notion Systems GmbH in Schwetzingen and Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam.

The »Chromogenic Polymers« department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP has been conducting research at the institute’s main location in Potsdam-Golm since January 2017. The group moved from Berlin-Adlershof where it had been since 2002. The development of biobased thermochromic plastics is currently one of the department’s main research topics. These materials have a high market potential when used in films for packaging temperature-sensitive products in the medical, pharmaceutical and food industries.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP and the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB will present new developments in films and the efficient control of coating processes at the upcoming International Converting Exhibition Europe ICE being held in Munich from 21 - 23 March 2017. Under the motto "Functional films – efficient coating processes", emphasis will be put on new film functionalities and accelerated test methods (Hall A5, Stand 1031).

Electrochromic glass darkens automatically when the sun shines and keeps the heat out. Previously it was available only in blue, and switching times were also long. Now, a new process makes it possible to manufacture other glass colors for the first time. And compared to previous models, switching is nearly ten times faster.

Innovative biofibers made from a silk protein of the green lacewing are being developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in conjunction with the company AMSilk GmbH. Researchers are working on producing the protein in large quantities by using biotechnology. The aim is to use the material in the future as a high-grade rigid fiber, for example, in lightweight plastics in transportation technology. It can also be conceivably used in medical technology, for example, as a biocompatible silk coating on implants. The Fraunhofer IAP is presenting its initial material sample at the International Green Week Berlin from January 20 to 29, 2017 in Hall 4.2, booth 212.