Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST
Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST
16 square meter clear glass greenhouse on the campus of the Fraunhofer IST.
© Fraunhofer IST
16 square meter clear glass greenhouse on the campus of the Fraunhofer IST.

Newsletter 2/2022

© Fraunhofer IST

Newsletter of the Fraunhofer IST

Editorial

Dear Reader,

Shortly before the summer vacations in Lower Saxony, we are sending you our second newsletter of the year, which focuses on innovations for sustainability. Among other things you will learn how energy can be generated from moon rocks in the future - without any CO2 emissions - how pollution reduction works without the use of chemicals, and what new possibilities there are for sustainable cleaning and disinfection. In addition, we report on the latest research results of the Fraunhofer IST in thin-film sensor technology and offer you a first glimpse into our new demonstrator, a greenhouse in which we will be developing and testing sustainable agricultural production systems.

We are very pleased that the institute has been awarded the employer seal "Zukunftgeber". Also, we have received the third place for the "Ferrotherm" project in the INNOspace Masters innovation competition. Last but not least, we would like to draw your attention to our Annual Report 2021. 

We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The Editorial Team

Highlights

 

© DLR

Bronze for "Ferrotherm"

At the INNOspace Masters conference on July 5th, 2022, Dr. Andreas Dietz of the Fraunhofer IST was delighted to reach 3rd place in the INNOspace Masters innovation competition. The “Ferrotherm” project was awarded a prize as part of the DLR Challenge 2021/2022. The aim is to develop carbon-free energy generation through iron combustion and electrochemical recycling that can also be used on the moon.

Press release
 

© Fraunhofer IST

Generating energy with lunar rock

Living on the Moon? This may perhaps sound somewhat unrealistic today, but the urbanization of the Moon is one of the future topics in space travel. The Fraunhofer IST is developing new concepts in order to secure the energy supply by means of lunar resources. At the ILA in Berlin from 22 to 26 June 2022, visitors can obtain an overview of current projects and ideas.

Press release
 

© Fraunhofer IST, Paul Kurze

Fraunhofer IST honored as Zukunftgeber

Great success for the Fraunhofer IST: In the certification process for the Zukunftgeber award, which is presented by the Employers' Association for the Braunschweig Region (Arbeitgeberverband - AGV), we received top marks and were rewarded with the employer seal Zukunftgeber.

Press release
 

© Fraunhofer IST

Pollutant reduction without the addition of chemicals

Disinfection and the reduction of pollutants in water and on surfaces play an important role in many areas of application. The addition of chemicals should, however, be avoided as extensively as possible in all these applications. This can be made possible through, e.g., treatment with electrochemically produced ozonated water, a process which the Fraunhofer IST has been researching and developing for many years now.

Press Release
 

© Fraunhofer IST

Optimum temperatures in plastic injection molding

In order to optimize the design and monitoring of mold temperature control, the real temperatures, pressures and flow rates must be continuously recorded during the injection-molding process. For this purpose, a sensor system is being developed at the Fraunhofer IST with which, for the first time, the temperature can be measured directly inside the three-dimensional temperature-control channels.

Press release
 

© Fraunhofer IST

Thin-film sensors in high-load zones of tools and components

With the wear-resistant thin-film sensors developed at the Fraunhofer IST and adapted to the respective application, measurements og e.g.  force or pressure can also be undertaken in areas which were previously difficult to access. For the first time, the researchers have succeeded in carrying out a spatially resolved temperature measurement in rolling contacts subjected to mixed friction.

Press release

Research

Find out in our articles from research on which innovative developments the Fraunhofer IST is working in the field of plant cultivation and how a new plasma source developed at the Fraunhofer IST can be used for automated cleaning and pre-treatment. Numerous other articles with the latest results can be found in the Annual Report 2021.

 

© Fraunhofer IST, Jan Gäbler

Research for the crop production of the future

Greenhouse
 

© Fraunhofer IST, Paul Kurze

Automated cleaning and pretreatment

MobDi
 

© Fraunhofer IST

Annual report 2021

You can download our recent annual report as pdf-file below:  

Download

Trade fairs and conferences

PSE 2022

Erfurt, September 12 - 15, 2022

The focus of this year's International Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering is ”Changes in Plasma Surface Engineering”. The conference is thus devoted to future developments and looks at technologies with high growth potential. This year the Fraunhofer IST is participating again in the joint booth of the network INPLAS and is expanding the program with numerous scientific contributions.

PSE 2022

K 2022

Düsseldorf, October 19 - 26, 2022

The key themes of the 22nd K in Düsseldorf this year are: “Circular Economy“, “Digitalization“ and “Climate Protection“. The trade show aims to provide impulses for thought and stimulate a dialog in the plastics and rubber industry. The Fraunhofer IST is participating in a joint booth together with many other Fraunhofer institutes and will present topics such as additive manufacturing in combination with plasma technology.

K 2022

 

© Fraunhofer IST, Falko Oldenburg

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