Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB
Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB

Spotlight on: Our Focus Themes

 

Circular Health

Balancing human and animal health with the environment and the economy

The aim of "Circular Health" is to sustainably safeguard the health of humans, animals and the environment through circular approaches in medicine, agriculture, food and environmental sciences. The concept was published as a position paper by our Fraunhofer Group.

  • Food and raw material production
  • Zoonoses and microbial resistance
  • Value-creation cycles in the healthcare sector
  • Health and environment
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CO2 as a raw material for sustainable chemistry

Technologies for capturing and utilizing CO2

To avoid greenhouse gas emissions, we support companies in developing processes and process cascades that can be used to produce fuels, platform chemicals, plastics and other chemical products from carbon dioxide in a climate-neutral way. 

From greenhouse gas to resource | CO2 conversion technologies and products made from CO2

 

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The problem of PFAS

Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, PFAS for short, play a key role in numerous industries. As many are non-degradable, they accumulate in the environment, animals and humans. The IGB offers solutions.

  • Substitution: Harmless alternatives to PFAS
  • Removal of PFAS from water
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Scaling and piloting of new processes for chemistry and biotechnology

Transferring the manufacturing process to a larger scale is an essential step in bringing new sustainable products to market. With its expertise and own pilot plants, Fraunhofer IGB supports companies in the market launch of green products.

 

  • Your partner for scaling processes and technologies
  • Successful biorefineries, plants and projects
  • How to work with us
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Our contribution to the Nexus of Water – Energy – Food – Raw materials

 

Excessive resource consumption and climate change are causing raw materials to run out, soils to erode and groundwater reserves to become scarce. Water is not only our most important foodstuff, but also fundamental for agriculture and the energy sector. With integrated concepts, Fraunhofer IGB takes into account the nexus of the resources water - energy - food - raw materials and develops comprehensive solutions for water and waste management, agriculture and the energy sector.

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Infection research

Solutions for prevention, diagnosis, drug development

 

Infectious diseases are on the rise again. We offer a wide range of solutions: from the prevention of bacterial infections through sterilization and the precise molecular biological diagnosis of pathogens through to test systems for the screening and testing of drug candidates.

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Bioprinting – Optimized bioinks for additive manufacturing

The aim of bioprinting is to produce biological or biologically functional tissue in the laboratory. The IGB optimizes biological materials for processing using 3D printing processes. The printed in-vitro tissues are used as test systems to answer questions about the efficacy of drug candidates or (in future) as biological implants to stimulate or replace damaged tissue for regeneration.

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Machine learning for algae cultivation

 

Although the basic mechanism of microalgae growth has been well studied, there are only a few mathematical models that can be used to model microalgae growth. Such models are particularly important for the cultivation of microalgae on a large scale and serve as the basis for a robust, predictive control system. Machine learning methods are used at Fraunhofer IGB to predict the growth behavior of the microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum outdoors.

 

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