Press releases, interviews and news

Banks along inland waterways are exposed to shipping and tidal forces. In order to prevent erosion, these are usually technically secured by stone embankments or walls. However, this has a negative impact on the ecosystems. In the joint research project "Bioshoreline" - funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture - the researchers, led by Fraunhofer UMSICHT, developed a biodegradable geotextile made from renewable raw materials that serves as a temporary filter for bank protection on inland waterways.

Fraunhofer UMSICHT is presenting its expertise in the field of fungal materials as a biogenic material source at the BAU trade fair from January 13 to 17, 2025 at the joint booth of the Fraunhofer Building Innovation Alliance (Hall C2, Booth 528). Examples of applications illustrate where materials made from fungal mycelium can be used. Under the motto “FungiFacturingArt”, the scientists are also exhibiting various artistic exhibits made of mycelial material inside an “Innovation Cube”.

If urban districts or industrial areas are to be made climate-neutral, there are many different ways to achieve this goal – from building refurbishment and the efficient use of renewable energies to the transformation of local infrastructures. But which of these paths makes the most economic sense and also guarantees the support of stakeholders? The researchers at Fraunhofer UMSICHT provide support in answering this question: They analyze prerequisites, framework parameters and technological options and develop customer-specific transformation plans on this basis. Sonja Witkowski and Carsten Beier explain what this looks like in practice.

The project “HyCoFC – Long-term Stable Fuel Cell Technology through Innovative Hybrid-Compound Bipolar Plates” aims to develop a hybrid-compound bipolar plate that consists of a carrier foil made of low-alloy steel and a conductive compound foil.

How can municipal utilities align their portfolio with both the goals of the energy transition and the development of the energy industry environment? The Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT and Stadtwerke Düsseldorf addressed this question in the "SW.Developer" project. The results: A collection of fact sheets for technologies, energy supply concepts and subsidies, an evaluation tool for local, integrated supply solutions and an online event format.

Circular economy = recycling waste? Not only! Dr.-Ing. Stephan Kabasci and Dr.-Ing. Jochen Nühlen make it clear in an interview that there is much more to circular economy than recycling. The scientists also talk about the challenges on the road to the circular economy and explain how Fraunhofer UMSICHT can help overcome these hurdles – whether by developing technologies and materials or providing advice on the circular transformation.

Ammonia plays an important role as a transport and storage medium in the hydrogen economy. Promising solutions for its use as an energy vector are currently being developed in the Fraunhofer flagship project AmmonVektor. But how great is the potential? And where are the limits? The workshop "Ammonia – THE supply chain for the hydrogen economy?", on October 30 in Oberhausen, will provide an overview of the latest technologies and developments and provide impetus for the energy transition.

Recycling is resource conservation. This is confirmed by the study published today by Fraunhofer UMSICHT on behalf of Interzero. The circular economy service provider Interzero avoided a total of 1.2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 by recycling around 2.5 million tons of recyclable materials. At the same time, Interzero was able to save over 11.1 million tons of primary resources together with its customers. For the transformation to a circular economy to succeed, new cycles must also be established for material groups that were previously neglected.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Renner, Head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT, received the Innovation Award of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia 2024 in the "innovation" category for a novel production process for aerogels that is suitable for the mass market. On September 30, 2024, Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy and Deputy Prime Minister of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, presented Prof. Renner with the award at KOMED in Cologne. The innovation prize in this category is endowed with 100,000 euros.

On behalf of the FBS (Federal Association of Concrete Sewer Systems), Fraunhofer UMSICHT prepared a life cycle assessment of the environmental impact of wastewater pipes made of (steel) concrete. This also functions as an association environmental product declaration (EPD-Environmental Product Declaration) and is publicly accessible via the ÖKOBAUDAT database. In addition, Fraunhofer UMSICHT compared the environmental impacts from the extraction of raw materials to the recycling of drainage systems made of (steel) concrete with pipelines made of plastic.