Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB
Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB
Grafik mit Spirale.
Grafik mit Spirale.
Grafik mit Spirale.
Grafik mit Spirale.
Grafik mit Spirale.
Grafik mit Spirale.
Grafik mit Spirale.
Grafik mit Spirale.
Grafik mit Spirale.
Grafik mit Spirale.

Network

Fraunhofer IGB is an active participant in numerous national and international research networks. Cooperative ventures with various universities and non-university research institutes, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration with other Fraunhofer Institutes, complement our own expertise and enable us to exploit synergies in developing new solutions for the needs of industry. We are also actively engaged in shaping research policies through championing strategic, economic, and sustainability standpoints.

In addition, Fraunhofer Institutes carry out joint activities within Fraunhofer internal research programs. Examples of IGB’s involvement are the Lighthouse Projects “Future Proteins”, “ShaPID , “SUBI²MA” and “AmmonVektor”. IGB was also active in the High-Performance Centers “Mass Personalization” (Stuttgart) and “Chemical and Biosystems Technology” (Halle-Leipzig region) until the end of 2024.

 

Added value through the ”Fraunhofer network plus”

In relation to its size Fraunhofer IGB is the most highly networked of all the Fraunhofer institutes.

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Fraunhofer networks

Fraunhofer Groups

Fraunhofer Institutes working in related subject areas cooperate as groups, foster a joint presence on the R&D market and help define the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s business policy.

Fraunhofer Group for Resources Technologies and Bioeconomy

The Group is a cooperation of four Fraunhofer Institutes with the ambition to have a pivotal impact in the fulfillment of the national, European and international sustainability goals. The Fraunhofer Group for Resources Technologies and Bioeconomy implements concepts on resources efficiency, bioeconomy, circular economy as well as sovereignty of value added cycles.

For more than 40 years, Fraunhofer IGB has been researching the development and utilization of biological resources, processes and systems in order to provide methods for a sustainable, biobased economic system oriented on natural material cycles.

Contact: Dr. Markus Wolperdinger, Director

 

Fraunhofer Group for Materials and Components – MATERIALS

Materials research covers the entire value chain, from the development of new materials and the enhancement of existing ones, to industrial-scale manufacturing technology, characterization of material properties and evaluation of service behavior. The same research scope applies to the components made from these materials and the way they function in systems. The Fraunhofer Group for Materials and Components addresses the entire range of materials and their composites, including metallic, inorganic/non-metallic, polymeric and renewable materials. The Fraunhofer IGB’s strong competence in materials science qualified it to become an associate member of the Group in 2008.

Fraunhofer lead market-oriented alliances

Institutes or departments of institutes with complementary competences collaborate in the form of Fraunhofer “alliances” to develop business areas together and offer and market solutions along the entire value chain.

Fraunhofer Chemistry Alliance

Founded in 2021, the Fraunhofer Chemistry Alliance builds on decades of collaboration between currently 15 Fraunhofer institutes and the chemical industry. Our goal is to leverage complementary competencies and interdisciplinary synergies to support industrial customers in technology development and scaling up to develop sustainable, innovative products and processes. With bundled Fraunhofer know-how, inventiveness and a unique infrastructure, we are a strong partner for the chemical industry on its ambitious path to defossilized and circular production processes.

Contact: Dr. Christine Rasche, Head of Business Area Sustainable Chemistry

Fraunhofer Energy Alliance

The Fraunhofer Energy Alliance is a gateway to R&D services in energy technology and economics. Above all small and medium-sized companies, but policy makers, too, benefit from Germany’s technology leadership in energy efficiency and the development of renewables. Fraunhofer IGB contributes its knowledge in the exploitation of energy resources contained in raw, residual and waste organic materials (e.g. for biogas production) as well as in membrane technology, particularly for gas purification/reforming and fuel-cell applications, in the storage and use of heat energy as well as chemical energy storage. The industry-oriented Energy Alliance is active in the lead market of the energy industry.

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Ursula Schließmann, Head of Business Area Environment and Climate Protection

Fraunhofer Agriculture and Food Industry Alliance

The Fraunhofer Agriculture and Food Industry Alliance is focused on new approaches in food safety, microelectronics and logistics that can be easily integrated in the entire food chain and are characterized by highest possible added value at low cost. Fraunhofer IGB contributes actively on the development of new physical processes for the extraction of functional ingredients and for the hygienization and stabilization of foods, such as pressure change technology or drying with superheated steam.

Contact: Konstantin Frick, Industrial Biotechnology | Algae Biotechnology

Fraunhofer Water Systems Alliance (SysWasser)

SysWasser’s mission is to develop sustainable solutions for water and wastewater treatment, utilization, reuse, and management, as well as sustainable water infrastructure systems and adapt them for use in practical applications, taking into consideration relevant social, economic and environmental aspects. The participating institutes provide a wide range of expertise on water treatment technologies, water infrastructures, system control and measurement techniques, automation and resource management, which enables the alliance to develop and implement system solutions based on a variety of technologies. The alliance’s managing director is Dr. Ursula Schließmann of Fraunhofer IGB, where the Alliance’s office is based. The industry-oriented Water Systems Alliance is active in the lead market of the energy industry.

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Ursula Schließmann, Head of Business Area Environment and Climate Protection

Fraunhofer topic-oriented networks

Institutes or departments of different institutes with complementary competencies also cooperate in topic-oriented Fraunhofer networks, competence areas and business areas.

Fraunhofer Competence Field Additive Manufacturing

The Fraunhofer Competence Field Additive Manufacturing deals with subjects concerning additive manufacturing to form the entire process chain, comprising the development, application and implementation of additive manufacturing methods and processes. In addition to the direct use of generative technologies, the activities also include material and application development, as well as issues relating to quality and are addressed to industries such as automotive engineering and aerospace as well as bio-medical and micro-system engineering. Fraunhofer IGB is active in the development of reactive inkjet printing and modern biomaterials and their production. Hydrogels are developed as tissue-like matrices or as release systems. The biological materials can be made into tissue models by means of printing and dispensing processes. For all processes, ink formulations are developed in order to meet the various functional components.

Contact: Dr. Achim Weber, Functional Surfaces and Materials

Fraunhofer Nanotechnology FNT

The Network Fraunhofer Nanotechnology bundles the nanotechnological expertise that is spread across nearly a third of the Fraunhofer Institutes. The network’s activities cover all aspects of nanotechnology, such as multifunctional layers for automotive applications, the design of special nanoparticles as carrier substances for biotechnology and medical applications, and the 3D-printing of nanobiomaterials. Prof. Günter Tovar is the network’s spokesperson.

Fraunhofer Polymer Surfaces POLO®

Fraunhofer POLO® bundles the expertise of Fraunhofer institutes for developing innovative concepts, technologies, and materials for the functionalization of polymer surfaces. POLO® network find solutions for your specific problems and for developing your ideas. We offer our expertise and equipment for surface coating and surface modification from lab-scale to pilot scale as well as state-of-the-art analytical equipment for the characterization and analysis of polymeric materials, surfaces, interfaces, and thin layers. Fraunhofer POLO® is the partner for companies that manufacture, process, and use plastic materials. Dr. Michaela Müller from the Fraunhofer IGB is the spokesperson for Fraunhofer POLO®.

Contact: Dr. Michaela Müller, Head of Innovation Field Functional Surfaces and Materials

Fraunhofer Business Area Cleaning

The business area combines the expertise of all Fraunhofer Institutes in the field of industrial cleaning with a focus on cleaning and pretreatment in surface technology. Fraunhofer IGB’s expertise includes plasma cleaning and plasma coating (e.g. photocatalytic coatings), and assessment using surface analytical and microbiological methods. Further competences are the conditioning and recycling of cleaning and process media as well as cleaning and hygienic aspects in design.

Contact: Dr. Jakob Barz, Functional Surfaces and Materials

Fraunhofer Hydrogen Network

As an energy carrier and chemical raw material, hydrogen will make a decisive contribution to achieving the climate targets. This can only succeed if the systems for generating, storing, transporting and using H2 are optimized, i.e. become more energy-efficient, robust, safe and economical. With its expertise, Fraunhofer is making a decisive contribution to this, among other things in the Fraunhofer Hydrogen Network.

Contact:

Dr. Arne Roth, Head of Innovation Field Sustainable Catalytic Processes

Dr. Ulrike Junghans, Head of Innovation Field Regenerative Resources

Fraunhofer Strategic Research Fields

Forming the core focus of our research portfolio, the Fraunhofer Strategic Research Fields aim to address needs and markets that will shape our future. Within these fields, Fraunhofer’s outstanding pre-competitive research specifically targets projects that have high commercial potential, thereby enhancing our impact on society and across multiple sectors.

Fraunhofer Strategic Research Field Bioeconomy

The combination of a growing global population, climate change, dwindling resources and the loss of agricultural land presents global challenges that can only be overcome by a new understanding of sustainable value creation. This transformation requires us to leave behind economic models based on the exploitation of fossil fuels. Instead, we need to move toward bio-based production, working methods and lifestyles – the bioeconomy.

Bioeconomy is also a leading topic at Fraunhofer IGB. For more than 40 years, Fraunhofer IGB has been researching the development and utilization of biological resources, processes and systems in order to provide methods for a sustainable, biobased economic system oriented on natural material cycles. Dr. Markus Wolperdinger is one of the spokespersons for the Strategic Research Field Bioeconomy.

Contact: Dr. Markus Wolperdinger, Director

Further Fraunhofer networks

CIRCONOMY® Hub Circular Carbon Technologies CCT

Sustainable production, sustainable consumption and a circular economy require systemic and technological solutions, which are created in innovation networks. The institutes Fraunhofer UMSICHT in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Fraunhofer IGB in Straubing and Fraunhofer IWKS in Alzenau are working on the conception of a hub for "Circular Carbon Technologies" in Bavaria. The focus is on the coupling of energy and raw material processes - for example, to tap non-fossil carbon sources - to recycle and bind carbon in products as well as to integrate these technologies into energy/economic cycles. The goal of the CCT CIRCONOMY® Hub is to establish demonstrators for a sustainable carbon economy in local application centers and subsequently roll out the developed technologies for use in industry.

 

Contact: Dr. Michael Hofer, Head of Straubing Site

 

Fraunhofer EU Network

The EU Network is a platform accessible to all Fraunhofer employees where they can exchange information and experience both with regard to strategic aspects of funding and how to handle application and tendering procedures effectively, as well as on how to ensure the smooth implementation of EU-financed projects.

Contact: Lisa Wünsche, European Project Management

Fraunhofer International Business Development (IBD) Network

International cooperations and joint development activities with globally active partners are also of strategic importance for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Fraunhofer IGB is an active member of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s International Business Development Network, where various Fraunhofer institutes exchange views on specific issues regarding cooperation with international partners. Best-practice examples serve as the basis for an even more efficient use of resources when initiating and pursuing cooperation projects.

Fraunhofer Network Science, Art and Design

Through a moderated development of the network "Science, Art and Design" within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the interdisciplinary cooperation with participants from different fields of knowledge and society is to be expanded. In the creative discourse of the disciplines involved, new ways of looking at complex social challenges emerge, and new perspectives can be introduced into research processes. By working on projects at the interface between the humanities and the natural sciences, the network aims to develop and test new methods for generating acceptance and finding scientific topics.

Contact: Dr. Elke Präg, Science Advisor to the Institute Management

Fraunhofer Sustainability Network

What sustainability means for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft was developed early on by the Sustainability Network with over 20 participating institutes. The Fraunhofer IGB was significantly involved in this process. Within the network, among other things, a guideline for sustainability reporting according to the internationally recognized reporting standard of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was developed.

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