Press releases and news 2018

Friday, 9th November 2018 was the last day of InnoTour 2018, a five-day tour leading 16 Australian researchers and innovators to different institutions and companies of the German healthcare research sector. InnoTour was organised by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft within the initiative InnoHealth Australia. Presenting the large portfolio of applied research and corporate landscape, InnoTour 2018 could contribute to the network between German and Australian actors. Thus, first joint project approaches have been identified – in basic and applied research as well as in the industrial sector. The Australian scientists were also guests at Fraunhofer IGB.

During the third International Organ-on-Chip Symposium, held on 8 and 9 November 2018 in Eindhoven, the European Organ-on-Chip Society (EUROoCS) was officially launched. The Society aims to encourage and develop Organ-on-Chip research towards a better health for everyone. Membership is open from 2019 to all researchers in the field, and gives access to the upcoming digital Organ-on-Chip platform and the future Journal of the Society. Peter Loskill from Fraunhofer IGB is one of the first board members.

Most detergents, cosmetics, and clothes, to name just a few products, are manufactured using petroleum, making such everyday items anything but eco-friendly. It is now possible to produce the bio-based and CO₂-neutral basic chemicals for such articles with the help of fungi. Fraunhofer research teams are developing fermentation techniques and manufacturing processes to produce them on an industrial scale.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB is coordinating the establishment of a European research network to promote organ-on-a-chip technology. Organ-on-a-chip systems enable the recapitulation of human organ tissues on a very small scale. They are regarded as a future alternative to animal models and as a technology with great potential for pharmaceutical research and personalized medicine. Since the development of organ-on-a-chip systems requires skills and expertise from various disciplines, the primary aim of the EUROoC network is the interdisciplinary training of young scientists.

In September, representatives of the state of Baden-Württemberg will visit the USA and Canada to promote transatlantic dialog. The delegation will focus on the topic area “Digitization and Transformation – the Impact on Business and Science”. One focus will be on climate protection. Dr. Markus Wolperdinger, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, will also speak on this topic.

Rare earths are among the most strategically important raw materials for German industry, as they are crucial parts of many high-tech products. For a more efficient use of these valuable elements, eight Fraunhofer Institutes have developed new solutions in a now completed joint project. These include optimized manufacturing processes, approaches to recycling and the development of new materials that can replace rare earths. The Fraunhofer experts showed that the demand for rare earths can be reduced to up to one fifth of today's value in benchmark electric motors.

The natural substance 3-carene is a component of turpentine oil, a waste stream of the production of cellulose from wood. Up to now, this by-product has been incinerated for the most part. Fraunhofer researchers are using new catalytic processes to convert 3-carene into building blocks for biobased plastics. The new polyamides are not only transparent, but also have a high thermal stability.

Nearly 30 participants – amongst them Dr. K. Vijayakarthikeyan, Commissioner of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) – met on Thursday, July 26th, in Coimbatore to discuss the topic of water management in their city.

Over the next four years the European UNRAVEL project will demonstrate a sustainable and economically feasible biorefinery for the conversion of second generation biomass into fuels, chemicals and building materials. In their efforts the partnership that comprises research organisations, SMEs and large industry from six European countries are supported by the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) which funds the UNRAVEL project with 3.6 million Euros.

Using ultrapure lignin from the lignocellulosic biorefinery at the Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes CBP in Leuna, researchers at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg (TU HH) have produced lignin-containing aerogels and processed high-porosity insulating boards with excellent insulation properties. The lignin was recovered from beech residual wood at the Fraunhofer CBP using the Organosolv process.