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Highly persistent plastic waste enters our environment via multiple ways, where it slowly weathers and decomposes into micro- and nanoparticles. Due to their hydrophobicity and small size, these particles can bind and transport pollutants. What toxicity they possess, where they remain and what damage they cause in the human body is being researched by Fraunhofer IKTS together with its partners in the EU project "PlasticsFatE".

The Battery Innovation and Technology Center (BITC), Fraunhofer IKTS site in Arnstadt, presents works by national and international artists in an art exhibition. The current collection at the institute features works by a Russian artist and a painter from Thuringia on the theme of "Viewpoints".

Fraunhofer IKTS is pleased to announce the nomination of Dr. Christoph Zeh for the Saxon Transfer Award 2021. With his know-how, he decisively advanced the spin-off of Senodis Technologies GmbH from Fraunhofer IKTS. He thus paved the way for the transfer of a technology for digital component identification to the market.

A strong alliance of Saxon scientific institutions, with numerous supporters from business and the region, wants to find groundbreaking solutions to challenges that are on the global agenda and are also particularly visible in the Saxon coal-mining region in the new “Future Factory Lusatia”. The project partners are proposing a large-scale research center to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), in which interdisciplinary teams will combine modern technologies and circular economy principles on a realistic scale to drastically reduce the consumption of water, energy and usable land.

As of April 1, 2021, the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS will take over the transparent ceramics division of the company CeramTec-ETEC, known for its brand name PERLUCOR^®. The institute thus significantly expands its existing competencies in the development of transparent ceramics. The technical infrastructure gained in the acquisition enables the establishment of a research and development center for transparent ceramics at the IKTS site in Hermsdorf.

How can industrial CO₂ emissions be reduced? How can material cycles be closed economically? This is being investigated by a consortium led by Fraunhofer IKTS as part of the CarbonCycleMeOH feasibility study funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), using methanol production at the Bitterfeld-Wolfen Chemical Park as an example. The study will offer process engineering and political recommendations for action to integrate the chemical industry into a renewable energy system.

During the virtual annual conference of the German Ceramic Society e. V. (DKG), Prof. Ingolf Voigt, deputy institute director and site manager Hermsdorf at Fraunhofer IKTS, was awarded the Böttger Badge. The badge has been awarded by the DKG since 1929 to individuals for their outstanding services to the interaction of industry, science and teaching.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS will take over the transparent ceramics division of CeramTec-ETEC, known under the brand name PERLUCOR^®, effective April 1, 2021. The institute is thus further expanding its expertise in the development of transparent ceramics.

Due to climate change and longer periods of drought, natural fresh water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Nevertheless, several billion cubic meters of water are used annually for production processes in the manufacturing sector. The resource-saving use of water, especially in industrial production processes, is therefore crucial. This is where the "ReWaMem" project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and led by the Kompetenznetzwerk Wasser und Energie e.V., comes in. Using the laundry and textile cleaning industry as a testing ground, the consortium intends to develop new technologies over the next three years that treat process wastewater in such a way that it can be fed back into the cleaning process as fresh water. The aim is to significantly reduce freshwater intake from rivers.

20 percent of the energy generated worldwide is lost through friction. Rolling and slide bearings are therefore used in many mechanical applications to reduce friction. However, rolling bearings have some disadvantages in terms of cost, weight and service life. Slide bearings, on the other hand, offer interesting solutions, but again have higher coefficients of friction. New friction-reducing materials and lubricants could save a large proportion of these friction losses in slide bearings. The greatest potential lies in the transportation and energy sector.