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To evaluate the compatibility of implants with the human body, researchers at Fraunhofer IKTS have developed a test system that takes the biological examination of implant materials to the next level. By means of the patented “ClicKit-Well”, materials are tested in a comparable way by creating identical test surfaces. In addition, multiple tests are possible on a single test specimen. This saves material and enables more efficient analyses of implant compatibility – a revolution in the growing market of medical implants and a future standard tool in daily laboratory use.

With "BattLife", the initial project of the newly founded Battery Innovation and Technology Center BITC at Erfurter Kreuz has been launched. Within the scope of the project, a digital test center for batteries and battery components will be established at BITC in the coming years. The industry partner of the project is Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia GmbH (CATT), a subsidiary of the Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL). It is the world market leader in the development of Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage and will set up its first European plant in Arnstadt which will create up to 2000 jobs in the future. CATT works closely with the researchers at BITC. The state of Thuringia will support the project with 5 million euros.

How can the steel industry contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions? More precisely: How can CO₂ emissions be reduced by up to 95 percent as efficiently as possible in the production of crude steel? Answers to these questions are provided by the MACOR project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and undertaken by the Fraunhofer Institutes IKTS, ISI and UMSICHT as well as Salzgitter AG. Fraunhofer IKTS in Dresden contributed its expertise in process simulation and high-temperature electrolysis and coordinated the project.

A direct conversion of ammonia into energy and the acceptance of this chemical compound as a synthetic fuel without CO₂ emissions - these are the goals of the recently launched EU project "HiPowAR".

Additive manufacturing is currently one of the most significant trends in industry. Now a team from the Fraunhofer IKTS has developed a Multi Material Jetting system that allows different materials to be combined into a single additively manufactured part. This makes it possible to create products with combined properties or functions. The new system can be used with particularly high-performance materials such as ceramics and metal.

In a recently started project, Fraunhofer IKTS, the Chair of Textile Technologies at Chemnitz University of Technology and the Institut für Holztechnologie Dresden (IHD) are developing processes to optimize wood-based materials for highly stressed applications, for example in the automotive or sports sectors, and thus contribute to reduce CO₂.

With a funding of 13.5 million euros from the Free State of Thuringia, the Battery Innovation and Technology Center (BITC) begins its work on July 10th, 2020, in the industrial area Erfurter Kreuz.

To give hope to those affected by bone defects: This is what researchers from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in Kiel, the University of Leipzig, University Medicine Rostock and Fraunhofer IKTS aim to do. As part of the “Hybrid-Bone“ project, they are developing personalizable ceramic bone replacement materials and structures for improved regeneration in the craniofacial region. Administratively supported by Starter GmbH, “Hybrid-Bone“ is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with 1.5 million euros over a period of three years.

Printed electronics are a key technology in many industrial sectors. In collaboration with the Group of Dr. Denys Makarov, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf HZDR, IKTS researchers are now demonstrating considerable progress in development and thus opening up a new type of application: Using low-cost, readily available materials and industrially relevant high-throughput processes, they are able to print flexible magnetoresistive sensors for contactless switching.

In the future, an extremely simple and robust electric drive shall be used to transport small satellites through space at low cost – using the fuel iodine. In the iFACT project, European researchers want to develop an iodine-based ion propulsion system and conduct extensive material tests over the next two years. Their aim is to establish an iodine-material compatibility library and an efficient European ground test infrastructure.