• High-level congress: 650 specialists from the field of technical ceramics from 47 countries visit Germany's largest Fraunhofer location
• State-of-the-art high-performance ceramics open up new potentials in user industries such as mechanical and plant engineering, aircraft and vehicle engineering, medical technologies as well as energy and environmental technologies

Dresden, August 22, 2016. From August 21 to 25, 2016 more than 650 international ceramics experts from 47 countries will meet at the 6th International Congress on Ceramics (ICC6) in Dresden. The congress is one of the most important platforms for research and development in the field of high-performance ceramics and will take place in Germany for the very first time. The Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS and the German Ceramic Society (Deutsche Keramische Gesellschaft e.V. / DKG) have managed to bring the large-scale event to Dresden.

ICC6 focal points: 3D printing, high-tech ceramics for energy, environmental and medical technology
“We are looking forward to a top-notch international program. 16 parallel symposia cover nearly all fields of application of high-performance ceramics. Experts from the fields of research and industry will introduce their latest developments in 400 presentations and 120 posters“, says Prof. Alexander Michaelis, Institute Director of Fraunhofer IKTS and chairman of the congress. “The motto “From Lab to Fab“ will place particular focus on the question as to how research results can be transferred to industrial application“, explains Prof. Michaelis.

“From Lab to Fab“: Enormous potential of high-tech ceramics for industry
Technical ceramics are frequently used where other materials, for example plastics or metal, reached their limits. Their unique properties – such as extreme heat resistance, special abrasion and wear resistance, the high degree of hardness and good bio-compatibility – turn them into true super materials in machine and plant engineering, medical technology, efficient energy and environmental technologies as well as electronics. High-tech ceramics already make a great contribution to technical innovation in many areas, such as sustainable mobility, energy conversion and recovery as well as the manufacture of individualized implants. Thanks to new technologies, such as additive manufacturing (3D printing) and the manufacture of technical ceramics in highly complex geometries, the market for high-performance ceramics will grow considerably over the years to come.

Germany's largest Fraunhofer location Dresden promotes innovation
Dresden's Mayor Dirk Hilbert: "We are proud that Dresden is now the meeting point for leading experts from the field of ceramics from all around the world. With the Dresden University of Technology and the largest number of Fraunhofer Institutes in Germany, Dresden possesses an extremely strong research landscape. Fraunhofer IKTS is the largest ceramic research institute in all of Europe, with internationally acclaimed expertise known for setting milestones in the fields of high-temperature fuel cell technology, battery and membrane technology. Its 3D printing competencies for ceramic materials are a highly innovative building block in the portfolio for Europe's largest Dresden consortium for additive manufacturing." This topic will therefore also be a main focal point of the Werkstoffwoche 2017 of the "Deutschen Gesellschaft für Materialforschung e.V." [Materials Week of the German Society for Materials Research e.V.] at which Dresden's material researchers will present the potentials of additive manufacturing far beyond the limits of materials.

June 2018: Fraunhofer IKTS invites international ceramics community to Dresden once again
In two years, technical ceramics experts from Germany and abroad will once again meet in Dresden. From June 18 to 22, 2018, Fraunhofer IKTS will host the 15th International Conference on Inorganic Membranes (ICIM). The top-notch conference will discuss research results, innovations and applications in the field of inorganic membrane technology. One focal point of the ICIM 2018 will involve functional layers for batteries and fuel cells.
Prof. Michael Stelter, deputy institute director of Fraunhofer IKTS and responsible for energy research says: “Over the course of the past two decades, Fraunhofer IKTS has shown on the basis of several fuel cells how systems can be developed cost-effectively, efficiently and durably using ceramic components and layers, from fundamental stages to field testing and pilot production. Batteries based on ceramic layers will dominate the decades to come. They are essential for practicable electric cars and the storage of power acquired from renewable energies.“

Research exchange between Dresden and South Korea
In November, one of the key events of German-Korean collaboration will be presented at the ADeKO Science Conference in Dresden. From November 16 to 18, 2016, Korean and German researchers will meet in Dresden under the motto “Engineering for our future“. The hosting alumni network Germany-Korea (ADeKo) is internationally unique with its 20,000 members of Korean alumni, who have lived, studied and researched in Germany. The objective of this cooperation is to further reinforce the good ties between Dresden and South Korea. For the first time, this conference will take place outside of Korea.
“The fact that the ADeKo conference will take place in Dresden - for the first time outside of South Korea - shows the great relationship between Dresden and South Korea”, said Dr. Robert Franke, Head of the Office for Business Development of the state capital Dresden. “With this cooperation we want to further strengthen our relationship with South Korea and present ourselves with our science and development expertise as a strong and attractive business and scientific partner city.”

Further information on ICC6: www.icc-6.com

Further information on ICIM 2018: www.icim2018.com

Further information on the ADeKO symposium 2016: www.korean-german-conference.de

Further information on Werkstoffwoche 2017: www.werkstoffwoche.de