On November 6, 2019, Prof. Dr. Armin Reller, co-founder and former scientific director of the Fraunhofer IWKS, was awarded the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in Munich. As an important member and companion of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies IWKS, the Fraunhofer IWKS feels connected to Prof. Reller in a special way.

Prof. Reller studied chemistry at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and dedicated himself early in his scientific career to material science and environmental science. In 1988 he became head of the Thermochemistry program (later renamed Solarchemistry / Hydrogen / Renewable Energy Sources) of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and thus coordinated the funding of energy research in Switzerland. After holding a chair at the University of Hamburg, he has been professor and head of department at the University of Augsburg since 1999, initially with a professorship for solid state chemistry at the Institute of Physics, and since 2010 at the Chair of Resource Strategy. Prof. Reller was co-founder and then scientific director of the Strategy and Networks business unit of the Fraunhofer Project Group for Material Recycling and Resource Strategies - today's Fraunhofer IWKS - which was founded in 2011. Today, Prof. Reller is still closely associated with Fraunhofer IWKS and is active, among other things, in an advisory capacity.

"Armin Reller has had a special influence on research in the field of resource strategy and efficiency in Germany and beyond and is still driving forward its development with his scientific work," says Prof. Dr. Anke Weidenkaff, director of Fraunhofer IWKS in Alzenau and Hanau. "We are delighted about this outstanding award for Prof. Reller's commitment to resource conservation and extend him our warmest congratulations!”

The Fraunhofer IWKS was founded to develop solutions for the sustainable use of precious resources together with partners from industry and research. Since the 1980s, the topic of resource protection and resource efficiency has not only gained enormously in importance, but also demands constant further development of solutions for ever new challenges. Prof. Reller has shaped the research work at Fraunhofer IWKS above all through his holistic approach to resource strategy: For example, scientists today still develop criticality analyses that are based decisively on Prof. Reller's research and take into account the entire life cycle of a raw material.

"We wish Prof. Reller continued success and are delighted to have found in him an outstanding fellow scientist, pioneer and friend who tirelessly supplies us with new inspiring ideas," summarizes Prof. Weidenkaff.