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How can relevant data from batteries be digitally recorded, linked, and made usable for informed decisions along the entire value chain? In practice, data on battery composition, environmental impacts, and optimal recycling pathways are often incomplete or inconsistent. This is where the new publicly funded research project “DiVaBatt – Digital Value Chain Resource Planning” for circular battery cell production, which started on February 1, 2026, comes in. The aim of the joint project is to create transparency in the battery value chain through digital and AI-supported solutions, thereby enabling a sustainable, economical, and regulation-compliant battery circular economy. The project started with collaborative kick-off meeting of all partners on February 3 and 4, 2026, in Hamburg.

When investors, start-ups and researchers come together, environments are created in which scientific findings can be applied in practice and achieve commercial success. Such a setting was provided by the Business Angel Matching Evening, which was organized by the BANSON e. V. initiative in collaboration with the Competence Network Industrial Plasma Surface Technology e.V. INPLAS and took place at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST on 10 February 2026. In addition to five selected start-ups, two Fraunhofer IST spin-offs also presented themselves, thereby taking the opportunity to showcase their technologies and development prospects.

How can coating and etching processes be made more efficient, robust, and data-driven? This question was the focus of the industry workshop “Plasma Process Simulation Tools for Industrial Coating and Etching Systems – Latest Developments and Future Trends,” which the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST organized on January 28 and 29 in collaboration with boltzplatz and PlasmaSolve.

For many people in the remote regions of Namibia, the journey to the nearest clinic or doctor presents an obstacle that is almost impossible to overcome. The indigenous population in particular, including the San community, suffers from a lack of medical care. High rates of tuberculosis and HIV, and a lack of hygiene infrastructure, combined with long distances mean that preventive and therapeutic care is difficult to provide. Now, however, a technological innovation is offering hope: the self-sufficient PreCare platform, mounted on a standard pick-up truck, is designed to make primary healthcare available in even the most remote, hard-to-reach areas.

On Thursday, 27 November, a delegation from the German National Hydrogen Council visited the Wasserstoff Campus Salzgitter. The National Hydrogen Council, which is comprised of 23 high-ranking experts from business, science and civil society, was appointed by the German government in June 2020 and acts as an independent, non-partisan advisory body. The visit provided an opportunity to present the activities, expertise and innovative strength of the Campus at a national level.

Climate change, increasingly frequent extreme-weather events and the growing demand for high-quality food are creating major challenges for agriculture worldwide. In order to secure yields while ensuring the efficient utilization of resources such as water, fertilizer and energy, farmers require ever more precise information regarding the condition of plants and soils. Hyperspectral remote sensing can provide crucial support here; until now, however, it has only been possible with large, complex and cost-intensive systems. This is precisely where the ESA-funded RAINBOW project comes into play. In collaboration with Airbus Defence & Space, VISTA Geowissenschaftliche Fernerkundung GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST has developed a new generation of compact hyperspectral sensors for small satellites.

Compile an emissions balance sheet, evaluate climate-protection measures and implement the most efficient of these first: Researchers from three Fraunhofer institutes have developed a method with which companies from all sectors are able, based on scenarios, to evaluate their climate-protection measures in accordance with ecological and economic criteria.

In times of increasingly stringent hygiene and food-safety requirements, the need for effective but simultaneously environmentally-friendly disinfection methods is growing. One possible alternative to conventional disinfectants is provided by plasma-activated water. The Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP, has investigated the effectiveness and durability of this innovative solution, and has summarized the results in a study.

In high-precision internal-gear hubs, all the components must function reliably within an extremely confined space - even in cases where the installation space does not allow the insertion of conventional shaft seals. In such cases, liquid sealants are utilized; their adhesion to metallic surfaces, however, often poses a challenge. The collaborative work of the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, Rohloff AG, and the Danish plasma and corona equipment manufacturer Tantec A/S has now resulted in an innovative solution that specifically improves the adhesion of these sealants.

Premiere at the Joint Campus Wolfsburg: From 8 to 12 September, the first Summer School on the “Automotive Circular Economy” will take place. Students from various disciplines will be brought together by Technical University of Braunschweig, the Open Hybrid LabFactory, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences and Fraunhofer CCEM to develop ideas for sustainable automotive production.