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The greenBatt cluster, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, launched on March 3, 2021 with a digital kickoff. Closing raw material cycles within the battery life cycle and thus creating the foundation for sustainable electromobility is the mission of the cluster.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have developed a technology for the energy-efficient and economic separation of hydrogen from natural gas. This membrane technology makes it possible for the two substances to be routed through the national natural gas grid together and then isolated from one another at their final destination. A major step forward in the transportation and distribution of hydrogen as an energy source.

Technological progress is not possible without raw materials from mines – e-mobility or digitalization come to mind. However, in order to minimize the subsequent ecological damages of mining, a consortium led by Fraunhofer IKTS puts efficient technologies for processing mine and mining waters to the test. These are intended to purify contaminated water, so that it can be used as process water and additional recyclables can be recovered. For pilot tests under real conditions, the research association secured itself access to an underground test site – a tin ore mine in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains).

At the turn of the year, the EU Commission granted approval for the first vaccines to protect against SARS-CoV-2. Around 3 million doses of vaccine have been administered in Germany so far – but a specific antiviral therapy for the disease does not yet exist. This poses major challenges for healthcare systems worldwide, especially in the clinical treatment of severe courses of the disease. In the Fraunhofer joint project COPERIMOplus, machine learning algorithms will be used to model individual risks for disease and progression, and to derive prognoses. Fraunhofer IKTS is part of the consortium and cooperates closely with the clinical Immune Plasma Covid Trial IPCO conducted at the Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, which is funded by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and investigates the treatment of severe courses of disease with convalescent plasma.

Recruiting, developing and retaining more women in applied research is an important goal of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The Fraunhofer TALENTA funding program is working to achieve these goals. Two female IKTS researchers were successful with their applications and will now receive tailored support for their career goals.

The danger of becoming infected with the coronavirus is especially high in enclosed spaces. This is because aerosols – which play a key role in the transmission of COVID-19 – increase the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in indoor spaces. A new ventilation system developed by two Fraunhofer Institutes is able to filter the virus from ambient air. It then destroys the virus in a process known as cold combustion, leaving behind nothing but small quantities of carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

Powerful battery storage systems are an essential component for the success of the energy transition. But how can these be produced in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way in the future? How can digital processes provide support? And how can old batteries be efficiently recycled and returned to a circular economy? Fraunhofer IKTS is addressing these questions at its new institute site in Freiberg, which was established with the support of Saxony's State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will fund the best regional STEM clusters starting in November 2020. This is part of a central promotion strategy for the STEM subjects science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through extracurricular activities for children and adolescents, STEM education is to be strengthened across the board, thus securing skilled workers in the long term. Among the funded projects is the MINT cluster SENSOR SPACE with the participation of Fraunhofer IKTS. After school clubs, events and summer schools for students will be offered in and around the Hermsdorf area in eastern Thuringia, with a special focus on the transfer of knowledge about batteries and sensor technology.

The hip resurfacing prosthesis currently used in surgeries is made from an alloy consisting of cobalt, chromium and molybdenum. But this metal is not tolerated well by all patients, some of whom develop allergic reactions or infections. In some cases, the prosthesis may even need to be removed. Through the Ceramic Bonepreserver project, Fraunhofer IKTS has developed a new ceramic resurfacing prosthesis consisting of femoral cap and monobloc acetabulum, which have a higher biocompatibility – and yet are just as stable and strong as their metal counterparts.

Sewage treatment plants not only have to filter suspended solids from the wastewater, but also various pollutants such as pesticide residues or residues of active ingredients from medicines. For the detection of non-degradable pollutants, the company ECH Elektrochemie has developed the Anthroplas analyzer together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS. At this year's virtual trade fair analytica digital, Anthroplas received the Application Award 2020 of LABORPRAXIS in the category water & environmental analysis.

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.