Press Releases

Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells made of stable materials and manufactured using scalable production processes are the prerequisite for the next technological leap in the photovoltaic industry. Over the past five years, six Fraunhofer Institutes combined their expertise in the Fraunhofer lighthouse project "MaNiTU" to identify the most sustainable paths for the market launch of such tandem solar cells. They were able to show for one that high cell efficiencies can be achieved using industry-oriented processes, however, that such high efficiencies were only currently achievable with lead perovskite materials. Based on these findings, the researchers developed suitable recycling concepts to ensure sustainability.

October 1 marks the beginning of a new era at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg. Prof. Dr. Miriam Unterlass takes over the management of the renowned Würzburg Fraunhofer Institute. The chemist and materials scientist, who previously taught at the University of Constance and the Vienna University of Technology, brings her focus on the synthesis of new functional materials to Würzburg and enriches the portfolio of the Fraunhofer ISC and the University of Würzburg with her expertise, where she will take over the Chair of Chemical Technology of Materials Synthesis in personal union.

Without lithium-ion batteries, environmentally friendly mobility and a sustain-able energy supply would be virtually inconceivable. However, the increasing demand for batteries and the associated raw materials poses major challenges. The REWIND project aims to overcome important obstacles on the way to an efficient and ecologically sustainable circular economy. REWIND is part of the BattFutur program of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The INN-PRESSME joint project, funded by the European Union with around 14 million euros, was launched three years ago. The aim of the 27 project partners from nine European countries is to establish a Europe-wide ecosystem for the development and production of plant-based, recyclable, and/or biodegradable packaging, energy, and transportation solutions, as well as consumer goods. The planned nine test cases with prototypes have currently been completed, and the results are very encouraging.

On 1st April 2024, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Sextl retired as Institute Director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg. Since February 2006, he has actively shaped the development of the Fraunhofer ISC and redefined its course. Over the past 18 years, the Institute has grown considerably under his leadership and has successfully established new fields of research and technologies related to the core competence of chemically based materials development.

The ReUse project, short for "Efficient direct recycling for low-value LFP battery for circular and sustainable waste management," is a 36-month research initia-tive. It is funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innova-tion program, operating under Grant Agreement No. 101137774, with a substan-tial EU contribution amounting to €4,927,664.93 in funding. The project com-menced in January 2024.

Together with partners, the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE is paving the way for the establishment of large-scale production of green hydrogen and its downstream products in Chile. The core of the BMBF-funded project is research into the production potential of hydrogen and liquid fuels from solar energy. In addition to the technical issues, the researchers are investigating the economic, logistical and socio-economic aspects of scaling up. They are also supporting the installation of a pilot production facility for methanol and dimethyl ether in the country.

In October 2023, the EU project "SUNGATE" was launched under the coordination of Fraunhofer IME in collaboration with 11 partners from industry and research. The aim of the project is to develop a novel, sustainable and cost-efficient biohybrid technology based on artificial photosynthesis that will enable the highly efficient and scalable production of solar fuel.

South Africa could play an important role in the coming years as a reliable producer of green hydrogen — including as a supplier for Germany. However, the storage and distribution of this resource currently poses challenges. This is where the recently launched Fraunhofer joint research project HySecunda comes in, which is a cooperation between nine Fraunhofer institutes and the Fraunhofer Academy. The project aims to find optimized solutions for produc-ing, storing and certifying green hydrogen. In addition, the consortium is supporting efforts to build capacity in the region and in current projects on hydrogen-based fuels for the aviation industry.

Materials are actually "silent". Although temperature, moisture, chemical influences or mechanical stress leave their mark and have an effect on their strength and service life, they can hardly tell us anything about their history of use. Knowing more about the history of such influences could therefore make a decisive contribution to product quality. However, there is still no solution for making materials talk about their history. The "SmartRust" research project now aims to change this.