Press releases

Researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI and the Fraunhofer IAP, in collaboration with industrial partners, have achieved initial success in the development of bio-based flame retardants in bioplastics. In the future, it could therefore be possible to utilize plastics in electronics and electrical engineering that consist of 100 percent bio-based materials. Within the framework of the research project, processing was tested by means of compounding, injection molding and additive manufacturing.

On December 12, Horst Weller, professor of physical chemistry at the University of Hamburg and head of the Center for Applied Nanotechnology (CAN) research division at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, retired. He is considered one of the world's most influential scientific minds in the field of chemistry. He also made a significant contribution to the University of Hamburg being able to acquire the title of Excellence.

Under the motto "Get into the loop", an international circular economy community will meet for the first time in Munich on February 8 and 9, 2023, at the Fraunhofer CCPE Summit under the leadership of UMSICHT Institute Director Prof. Manfred Renner. It is the starting signal for an international forum that promotes the exchange of solution ideas and innovations for a circular plastics economy. Program details and a registration form can be found on the website of Fraunhofer CCPE. For about four years, six Fraunhofer institutes have been dedicated in the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE to the question of how the value chain of plastics can be made circular.

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.