Pressreleases

Taking place in Hong Kong on 9 October, the International GreenTech Symposium 2025 was a major event for anyone interested in sustainable technology and resource management.

The recycling industry faces major challenges, especially when it comes to sort-ing plastics. The Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE invites anyone interested in this topic to an online seminar on October 2, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event will focus on innovative sorting technol-ogies, which are considered key to improving the recycling of plastics.

On June 27 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., researchers from the high-performance center hydrogen Hesse invite interested citizens, families and students to the EXPERIMINTA ScienceCenter in Frankfurt am Main for an exciting dialogue on the topic of "Hydrogen as the energy of the future". There will be hands-on stations, experiments, lectures and opportunities to talk to the research sci-entists. The event is free of charge and registration is not necessary.

Christoph Degen, State Secretary in the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture, visited Fraunhofer IWKS in Hanau. He was accompanied by Heiko Kasseckert, Member of the State Parliament, and Prof. Dr. Thomas Walter, Vice President for Innovation and International Affairs at Technical University of Darmstadt.

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.

The amount of plastic waste is constantly increasing, placing a heavy burden on the climate and resources. This makes it all the more important to develop intelligent recycling strategies that reduce waste and keep resources in the cycle. The Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies IWKS is working on this and other sustainability-related research. On November 5, 2024, the applied research facility will open its doors from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and invites all interested citizens to gain insights into the latest findings and technologies. The “Open Hub Day” of the Fraunhofer IWKS is part of the pioneering K3I-Cycling project of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The event is free of charge and is aimed at both interested laypeople and visitors from the field.

On Tuesday, July 30, Till Mansmann, Innovation Commissioner for »Green Hydrogen« at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and development policy spokesperson for the FDP, visited the High Performance Center - Green Materials for Hydrogen, Hesse »GreenMat4H2« in Hanau and Darmstadt. In close cooperation with regional partners, the High Performance Center pools the expertise of the Fraunhofer IWKS and the Fraunhofer LBF in order to develop future-proof concepts for a sustainable, geopolitically independent, efficient and safe hydrogen economy. Till Mansmann gained deep insights into the hydrogen activities in Hessen and gathered important impulses from research and science, which he would like to contribute to the public discourse.

How safe is hydrogen as an energy source of the future? Which materials need to be upgraded for the use of hydrogen and how can they be recycled? What do efficient processes look like? Research teams from the Fraunhofer IWKS and the Fraunhofer LBF will be showcasing current developments in the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen at HANNOVER MESSE, April 22 to 26, 2024, Hall 13, Stand C16, at the LandesEnergieAgentur Hessen LEA stand.

The Energy & Climate Protection Foundation has been organizing the "Energy and the Environment - My Idea for Tomorrow" ideas competition every year since 2011 in order to promote young scientists. It is aimed at young scientists working on the topic of the energy transition and climate protection as part of their doctorate. At the foundation's "Energy Campus" symposium on November 17, 2023, Mario Schönfeldt, research associate at Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies IWKS, was delighted to win second place.

Prof. Dr. Anke Weidenkaff was elected as a member of acatech - German Academy of Science and Engineering and will be involved in the Materials Science and Engineering thematic network in the future. The election took place at the last General Assembly on October 10, 2023 in Berlin. The proposal was submitted by the Presidium.