Quantum materials are changing the way we think about the behaviour of electrons and opening the way to powerful new technologies. In high school science class, we learned that plugging a cable into an electrical circuit sets off a flow of electrons, powering everything from our lights to our phones. Traditionally, we’ve understood how electrons behave in metals and semiconductors through a simple model: electrons are imagined as tiny, independent particles, much like cars on an open highway—each one moving…

… and thermal post-treatment of flexible ultra-thin glass. Ultra-thin glass offers great potential for modern high-tech applications. Despite its superior properties compared to polymer films, the material has not yet established itself on the mass market. A key obstacle is its tendency to brittle fracture, which is typical of glass and requires adjustments along the entire process chain. Such a process chain is now available at the Fraunhofer FEP in Dresden for feasibility studies up to the pilot scale for…

Special exhibition by the Fraunhofer Building Innovation Alliance at the BAU 2025 trade fair in Munich. Under the motto “Mission for the future of building affordable.sustainable.safe”, from January 13 to 17, 2025, the Fraunhofer Building Innovation Alliance will be presenting innovations as part of its special exhibition at the BAU 2025 trade fair in three key areas of transformation in the construction industry: sustainability, productivity and resilience. The exhibits will be on display in and around a two-story Innovation Cube…

Max-Planck-Institutes in Potsdam drive forward sustainable energy transition. The Max-Planck-Campus in Potsdam is committed to sustainability and energy self-sufficiency. With a combination of energy-saving measures and the expansion of renewable energies, the institutes are striving for greater energy independence and an active contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. An innovative agrivoltaic system is currently at the heart of these efforts, which is being built on around 6,000 m² of research space at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Molecular Plant Physiology…

With its spatial light modulators, Fraunhofer IPMS offers photonic systems including matching control electronics and software that enable precise control, high modulation frequencies and high image quality. They facilitate new and improved applications in industry as well as in automotive, astronomy and medical sectors. Controlling and modifying photons, tiny particles of light, is useful for a wide range of technological applications in medicine, industry and entertainment. The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS is developing spatial light modulators consisting of…

Conventional catalysts for hydrogen production via water electrolysis usually contain precious metals and are expensive. However, cheaper alternatives have been developed, for example cobalt-manganese catalysts. They have a high activity and are stable over a long period of time. The decisive factor for these characteristics is their manganese content. Why manganese plays this essential role was unknown for a long time. The mechanism behind this has now been deciphered by researchers from the German institutions Ruhr University Bochum, the Max…

The European Commission’s targets are ambitious: the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation stipulates a 60 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions from aviation by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. A comprehensive EU Space Law (EUSL) is also planned, including rules on the sustainability of space activities. Aerospace companies are receiving support from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen and its new additive manufacturing processes, which significantly reduce the ecological footprint and reduce production costs. “How can aviation be made greener?”…

Researchers from Univ. of British Columbia and Drexel University Use Kirigami to Create Tunable Radio Antennas from MXene Nanomaterials. The future of wireless technology — from charging devices to boosting communication signals — relies on the antennas that transmit electromagnetic waves becoming increasingly versatile, durable and easy to manufacture. Researchers at Drexel University and the University of British Columbia believe kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding paper to create intricate three-dimensional designs, could provide a model for…

Using mechanisms inspired by nature to create new technological innovations is a signature of one Virginia Tech research team. The group led by Associate Professor Michael Bartlett has created an octopus-inspired adhesive, inspired by the shape of octopus suckers, that can quickly grab and controllably release challenging underwater objects. Having the ability to grab and release these underwater objects like heavy rocks, small shells, and soft beads, and other debris could be a powerful tool for underwater salvage and even rescue operations….

Materials researchers have created a new composite material that combines two incompatible properties: stiff yet with a high damping capacity. In brief Oscillations and vibrations damage machines and buildings, while noise affects human health and wellbeing. Damping materials are consequently needed that are not only both rigid and load-bearing but also mitigate noise. Based on simulations, ETH materials researchers have developed a   composite material that combines both these properties. This consists of layers of a stiff material in combination with…

…traveling across the interface of two semiconductor materials. UC Santa Barbara researchers have achieved the first-ever “movie” of electric charges traveling across the interface of two different semiconductor materials. Using scanning ultrafast electron (SUEM) techniques developed in the Bolin Liao lab, the research team has directly visualized the fleeting phenomenon for the first time. “There are a lot of textbooks written about this process from semiconductor theory,” said Liao, an associate professor of mechanical engineering. “There are a lot of…

… Aims to Enhance Safety in Autonomous Driving. Researchers from Jena have developed a cost-effective yet powerful infrared camera particularly suited for use in autonomous vehicles. The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF is presenting the innovative infrared camera at the International Suppliers Fair (IZB) in Wolfsburg. Fall is here, bringing rain, fog, and early darkness. For road users, this means heightened caution, as visibility conditions increasingly deteriorate. Thermal imaging cameras that can reliably detect people even…

Additive Manufacturing, particularly metal 3D printing, has evolved from a promising technology to a serious constituent of industrial production. Dr. Stefan Leuders, head of Technology & Innovation at voestalpine Additive Manufacturing Center GmbH, Düsseldorf, and Dr. Tim Lantzsch, head of Laser Powder Bed Fusion at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Aachen, discuss the current trends in Additive Manufacturing (AM), analyze the opportunities and risks, and show which industries can particularly benefit. We are delighted to talk to two…

… in Forming and Machining by up to 20 Percent (on average). EmulDan stands for ‘Energy Efficiency in Production through Multivalent Data Usage.’ In this joint project, the Fraunhofer IWU and its industry partners demonstrated that significantly lower consumption process routes are achievable while maintaining component quality, leading even to shorter processing times in some cases. Moreover, when process design is consistently energy-efficient, maintenance efforts for production equipment also decrease. EmulDan focuses on how to collect data, providing valuable insights…

Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Germany, have developed a new method that makes it possible for the first time to image the three-dimensional shape of proteins with a conventional microscope. Combined with artificial intelligence, One-step Nanoscale Expansion (ONE) microscopy enables the detection of structural changes in damaged or toxic proteins in human samples. Diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, which are based on protein misfolding, could thus be detected and treated at an early stage. ONE microscopy was…

Sustainability is a complex problem with many different players and influenced by policies, society, and technical perspective. We are reminded every day in the media of the unnecessary amount of waste that we are generating with pervasive pictures of plastic garbage patches floating in the oceans or stranded on our beaches. Scientists within ASU’s  School of Molecular Sciences  (SMS) and the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing (SM3) are pursuing a multi-pronged approach towards a more circular…