Network

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 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 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 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

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.

BioLAGO is the cross-border network for the health industry in the four-country-region of Lake Constance (Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein). The network links industry with science for innovations; it promotes knowledge transfer and the foundation of new firms.

Prof. Dr. Susanne Bailer represents Fraunhofer IGB in this network in order to identify and keep partners up to date on the IGB topics of molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine. She is also involved in the DiagNET-AG "Multi-resistant pathogens".

In 2020, DiagNet became the ZIM network DIGInostik. Here, innovative diagnostic solutions are developed with the help of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) that optimize the entire process from diagnostics to individual therapy and health care.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Susanne Bailer, Head of Innovation Field Virus-based Technologies

The Fraunhofer IGB is a member of BioMedTech. The focus of this association is on networking the sectors of biotechnology and medical technology, where the IGB is also traditionally and interdisciplinary active.

Fraunhofer IGB is a member in the BioPharma Cluster South Germany, the leading European hub for the research-based development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. By focusing on technology, talents, and society, the cluster strengthens healthcare as a whole for the benefit of patients worldwide. The unique aspect is the spatial concentration of basic and applied research institutions and globally successful companies representing all parts of the biopharmaceutical value chain.

One focus area is on technologies and platforms for developing and optimizing novel biopharmaceutical modalities (e.g., virus-based therapeutics) and their production processes.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Susanne Bailer, Head of Innovation Field Virus-based Technologies

17 project partners from academia and industry have joined forces in the Bio2Brain network to investigate efficient administration routes of biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). The challenge is an endogenous defence system that normally protects the CNS from unwanted substances. The downside, however, is that commercial or even potential drugs cannot readily cross this barrier. In order to respond to this challenge, the Bio2Brain network will pursue more effective approaches and develop new paradigms for drug delivery technologies in the treatment of CNS diseases.

Contact: Dr. Carmen Gruber-Traub, Functional Surfaces and Materials

CLIB²⁰²¹ closes gaps between science and market and brings academic and industrial members together who are active in research, development, production and commercialization – all crucial elements of the industrial value chain. Core activity is to initiate R&D consortia with partners from leading research institutes and various industry branches.

Dr. Christine Rasche serves as the interface to CLIB²⁰²¹ and represents the entire spectrum of Fraunhofer IGB's R&D offer in industrial biotechnology in Stuttgart, Leuna, and Straubing.

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

The Fraunhofer IGB is a member of the EU Working Group for Research and Technological Development Organizations (RTOs) in Baden-Württemberg, which aims to promote the regional exchange of information concerning EU funding for non-university research establishments.

Contact: Lisa Wünsche, European Project Management

Sustainable management of Phosphorus is crucial for agriculture, food, industry, water and the environment. ESPP brings together companies and stakeholders to address the Phosphorus Challenge and its opportunities.

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Marius Mohr, Head of Innovation Field Water Technologies, Resource Recovery and Scale-up

Forum MedTech Pharma is a charitable non-profit making association - incorporated society. The network is forming a unique platform for business contacts and knowledge exchange for facilitating innovation and co-operation in the medical sector.

Contact: Prof. Steffen Rupp, Deputy Director

Fraunhofer IGB is a member of the German Phosphorus Platform, which intends to bring together the knowledge and experience of participants from relevant industries, public and private organisations and from research and development facilities with the objective of achieving the sustainable use of the valuable vital substance phosphorus. Fraunhofer IGB is involved with its expertise in phosphorus recovery and recycling to nutrients, e.g. from wastewater. 

Contact: Dr.-Ing. Marius Mohr, Head of Innovation Field Water Technologies, Resource Recovery and Scale-up

The German Water Partnership is a joint initiative of the German private and public sectors, combining commercial enterprises, government and non-government organisations, scientific institutions and water-related associations. The network is supported by five federal ministries. Its head office in Berlin collects and coordinates information about innovations, activities and services of its members. The fundamental aim of the German Water Partnership is to make the outstanding German engineering, know-how and experience in the water sector easily available to partners and clients all over the world.

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

The Fraunhofer IGB is a member of the Regenerative Methanol network via its Straubing branch Bio, Electro, and Chemocatalysis BioCat. The aim of the innovation network, which has been sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Technology since 2014, is to present the commercial and technological possibilities of regeneratively produced methanol as a material energy storage and to implement future-oriented concepts for decentralized production facilities.

One focus of BioCat is the development of novel catalysts and catalytic processes to use electrical energy by converting CO₂ into energy storage. This research is carried out primarily within the framework of the Center of Energy Storage, which is operated jointly with the Fraunhofer UMSICHT institute branch Sulzbach-Rosenberg.

Contact: Dr. Arne Roth, Head of Innovation Field Catalysts

The aim of the network is to develop innovative, miniaturized, multimodal sensor technology and measurement systems for improved on-site analysis and rapid tests, including improved sensor technologies and alternative materials. Both low-cost and high-quality solutions are targeted, depending on the application or market.

The Fraunhofer IGB service portfolio ranges from genome engineering to process development on a laboratory scale. In the course of molecular diagnostics, IGB scientists develop PCR and array technologies as well as other modern detection systems for the identification and quantification of pathogens.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Susanne Bailer, Head of Innovation Field Virus-based Technologies

The ZIM cooperation project PerFluSan is dedicated to the development of new, effective remediation methods for PFC-contaminated soils and wastewater. At the same time, the partners are researching alternatives to PFC-containing extinguishing agents in order to prevent the introduction of pollutants into the environment from this source. The Fraunhofer IGB contributes new oxidative processes and technologies for the degradation of PFCs and develops a method for real-time analysis of the various PFCs in the environment.

Contact: Christiane Chaumette, Water technologies, resource recovery and scale-up | Physical and Chemical Separation Processes

The Forschungsallianz Kulturerbe (Research Collaboration for Cultural Heritage Conservation) is an interdisciplinary alliance between the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the Leibniz Association and the Prussioan Culturals Heritage Foundation. Their aim is to develop together new techniques and methods for the restoration and conservation of cultural assets and intensify the scientific communication between the research sector and the field of restoration. Altogether it is an important issue for the alliance to stimulate public awareness of the importance for Cultural Heritage in society.

In 2019, the Research Collaboration for Cultural Heritage Conservation will enter the second round: For the protection of cultural assets, Fraunhofer is funding the IGB topic "Parylene-based layers and permeation barriers" by Dr. Jakob Barz for the next 3 years.

Contact: Dr. Jakob Barz, Functional Surfaces and Materials

Roll-to-roll (R2R) processes, in which, for example, films, textiles, flat membranes, metal foils or even ultra-thin glass are functionalized, play an important role in numerous industrial processes. In the R2RNet network, founded in 2020, 21 European partners from industry, research organizations and universities are pooling their expertise in the continuous functionalization of surfaces in the roll-to-roll process. The aim is to promote the exchange of experience and to facilitate access to these technologies and to corresponding equipment. The network was initiated by the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research IAP and for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB.

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

The Stuttgart Competence Center for Processing Media (PM) for forming and machining – metal working fluids, forming fluids, minimum quantity fluids, multifunctional oils – puts decades of experience at your service. We are happy to support you on analytics, maintenance and application issues.

For this purpose, we at the Competence Center for Processing Media (PM) are working on adaptive and AI-supported solutions for continuous control and monitoring. The development of microbiological hygiene concepts in combination with optimized filtration and recirculation ensures sustainable cost-minimized production.

Contact: Dipl.-Ing. Christiane Chaumette, Water technologies, resource recovery and scale-up | Physical and Chemical Separation Processes

• Bayern Innovativ – Cluster Neue Werkstoffe
• BIO-based Industries Consortium
• BioRegioStern GmbH
• BioRN Network e. V.
• BioValley Deutschland e. V.
• Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking
• Chemie Cluster Bayern
• Deutsche Agrarforschungsallianz (dafa)
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Membrantechnik e. V. (DGMT)
• EIT Food
• EIT Health
• EIT Raw Materials
• European Algae Biomass Association (EABA)
• Gesellschaft für Dermopharmazie e. V.
• INNONET Kunststoff, Technologiezentrum Horb GmbH & Co KG
• Kompetenznetz Verfahrenstechnik Pro3
• Kompetenzzentrum Umwelttechnik - KURS e. V.
• Plattform Umwelttechnik e. V. (PU)
  
• Regionalentwicklungsverein Straubing-Bogen e. V.
• Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficience SPIRE
  
• TeBioS Technische Biologen der Universität Stuttgart e. V.
• UWS Umweltmanagement GmbH
• Water Science Alliance e. V.
• ZIM network smart analytics
• ZIM network ViProNet

Basic research is a prerequisite for the applications of tomorrow. Fraunhofer IGB therefore maintains contacts with numerous universities. There is particularly close cooperation with the neighboring University in Stuttgart, both through scientific collaboration and through professorial  or other teaching commitments of Fraunhofer employees. Through connections of the IGB branch in Straubing with the Technical University of Munich and the Leuna branch with the Universities of Halle and Leipzig, our scientific network extends far beyond the region.

Fraunhofer IGB is particularly closely allied to the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology IGVP at the University of Stuttgart through various teaching activities as well as joint operations. We are also networked with numerous other universities.

• Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Köthen, Germany
• Biberach University of Applied Sciences, Germany
• Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium
• Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Thessaloniki, Greece
• Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
• Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
• Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany
• Energy Institute at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria
• Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Germany
• Graz University of Technology, Austria
• Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Germany
• Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
• Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, Germany
• Hochschule Merseburg – University of Applied Sciences, Germany
• Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
• Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Germany
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
• Martin-Luther-University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
• Reutlingen University, Germany
• Stellenbosch University, South Africa
• Technische Universität München (TUM), Munich, Germany
• University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
• University of Basilicata, Italy
• University of Göttingen, Germany
• University of Heidelberg, Germany
• University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
• University of Leipzig, Germany
• University of Lille, France
• University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
• University of Rijeka, Croatia
• University of Stuttgart, Germany
• University of Ulm, Germany
• University of Vienna, Austria
• Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands

• Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC-CNS), Spain
• Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum (DBFZ), Leipzig, Germany
• European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Florenz, Italy
• French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), Paris, France
• fzmb GmbH, Research Centre for Medical Technology and Biotechnology, Bad Langensalza, Germany
• German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf, Germany
• Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
• Korea Institute of Energy Technology, South Korea
• Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Halle, Germany
• LEITAT Technological Center (Asociación Acondicionamiento Tarrasense), Barcelona, Spain
• Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg, Germany
• Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO, Delft, the Netherlands
• New Zealand Forest Research Institute Limited (Scion), Rotorua, New Zealand
• nova-Institut GmbH, Hürth, Germany
• Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), Borås, Sweden
• Saxon Textile Research Institute e.V. (STFI), Chemnitz, Germany
• Senai Brasilien, ISI for Biosynthetisc Rio de Janeiro, ISI for Biomass in Tres Lagoas, ISI for Biochemistry in Sao Paulo, Brasilia
• SINTEF, Norway
• TECNALIA, Spain
• VITO – Flemish Institute for Technological Research NV, Mol, Belgium
• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland
  

• Hannover Medical School, Germany
• Robert Bosch Hospital, Stuttgart, Germany
• University Hospital Heidelberg (dental medicine), Germany
• University Hospital of the Ruhr-University of Bochum (UK RUB), Germany
• University Hospital Tübingen, Germany