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For the first time, an innovative monitoring system for pressure vessels has been installed on an offshore platform. On Snorre A off the Norwegian coast, energy supplier Equinor is testing the novel sensor system for non-contact level measurement in offshore separators using guided ultrasonic waves. The technology was developed at Fraunhofer IKTS and is marketed by the IKTS spin-off Nicoustic AS.

Altech Batteries GmbH, a joint venture of Fraunhofer IKTS and the ALTECH Group, has reached an important milestone with the publication of the feasibility study for the joint CERENERGY^® project. The study underlines the great economic potential of the technology, which offers a sustainable energy storage solution with sodium solid-state batteries, especially for grid applications. A battery factory is planned in Schwarze Pumpe (Saxony) with an annual capacity of 120 battery containers with an output of 1 MWh each, the so-called “GridPacks”.

In the BMBF joint project "BALU", a consortium of research institutions and specialized industrial companies is further developing the aluminum-graphite dual-ion battery (AGDIB). The project is pursuing the ambitious goal of transferring the production of AGDIB cells from laboratory scale to industry-compatible production conditions. Ecological considerations, such as the avoidance of critical raw materials, environmentally friendly production and subsequent recycling, play an explicit role in the transfer of the new battery technology. Fraunhofer IKTS is contributing its expertise in cell and process development.

Especially in winter, heat pumps can freeze up, which greatly minimizes their energy efficiency. The partners in the recently launched project PIEZOdevICE, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMBF), want to counter this by developing strategies that minimize the additional energy required for defrosting and thus increase the COP value (coefficient of performance) of the heat pump.

thyssenkrupp nucera and Fraunhofer IKTS agree on a strategic partnership in SOEC technology to jointly take the final steps towards industrial production and application of the high-temperature electrolysis (SOEC) developed at Fraunhofer IKTS.

Fraunhofer IKTS and the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) will be working together under one roof to develop industrial technology projects in Dresden, starting from February 2024. The Germany-Korea Technology Cooperation Center for Global Value Chains will be established at the IKTS site in Dresden-Klotzsche, bringing together Korean companies and German researchers. The opening ceremony took place on February 20, 2024 in the presence of representatives from the South Korean Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Saxon Economic Development Agency.

In the BMBF project "Power-to-MEDME-FuE", a research consortium with the participation of Fraunhofer IKTS is evaluating the production potential of hydrogen and liquid fuels from solar energy in Chile. In addition to the technical issues, economic, logistical and socio-economic aspects of scaling up are being examined. The project team is also supporting the establishment of a pilot production facility for methanol and dimethyl ether (DME) in Chile. Fraunhofer IKTS is contributing its expertise in the evaluation of various electrolysis technologies.

South Africa could play an important role as a reliable producer of green hydrogen in the coming years. However, there are currently challenges when it comes to storing and distributing the raw material. This is where the recently launched Fraunhofer joint project “HySecunda” comes in, which aims to find optimized solutions for the production, storage and certification of green hydrogen. Fraunhofer IKTS is contributing its expertise in the development of measuring methods and sensor concepts.

In the recently launched project VorZuQ, Fraunhofer IKTS aims to extend its thermo-mechanical analysis methods into the cryogenic temperature range and thus create the first applications for quantum computing-related materials and structures.