In February, the Estonian-based startup New Standard Oil successfully commissioned their first industrial-scale prototype for drying and torrefaction of biogenic feedstock operating with superheated steam at atmospheric pressure. The energy-efficient process was developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart, Germany, and produces valuable raw materials for the chemical and energy industries: basic chemicals, biocoal and water. Plant biomass is considered a climate-friendly alternative to fossil raw materials. For material and chemical use, renewable raw…

Researchers develop first self-healing, electrically conducive, soft material. Carnegie Mellon University engineers have developed a soft material with metal-like conductivity and self-healing properties that is the first to maintain enough electrical adhesion to support digital electronics and motors. This advance, published in Nature Electronics, marks a breakthrough in softbotics and the fields of robotics, electronics, and medicine. At Carnegie Mellon University, softbotics represents a new generation of soft machines and robots manufactured by multi-functional materials that have integrated sensing, actuation,…

Alloys that can return to their original structure after being deformed have a so-called shape memory. This phenomenon and the resulting forces are used in many mechanical actuating systems, for example in generators or hydraulic pumps. However, it has not been possible to use this shape-memory effect at a small nanoscale: Objects made of shape-memory alloy can only change back to their original shape if they are larger than around 50 nanometers. Researchers led by Salvador Pané, Professor of Materials…

EU project SUNREY: Making perovskite solar cells more sustainable, efficient and durable – these are the goals pursued by 13 European partners in the project SUNREY. The project aims to further push the development of highly-efficient solar cells based on non-critical raw materials and to strengthen the innovation potential of the European industry. SUNREY is funded by the European Union’s research and innovation program Horizon Europe within the framework of the Green Deal Initiative with 4.25 Million Euro. The three-year…

Starting signal for new Christian Doppler laboratory at Graz University of Technology in Austria. Sustainably produced concrete mixtures from mineral residues and waste materials could partially replace Portland cement-based concrete in the future, especially in application environments prone to corrosion such as sewage systems, biowaste plants or tunnel drainage systems – for Cyrill Grengg from the Institute of Applied Geosciences at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), this is not only an achievable goal, but also makes economic and ecological…

… with magneto-and electro-mechanical properties has been developed. Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have created software and hardware for a 4D printer with applications in the biomedical field. In addition to 3D printing, this machine allows for controlling extra functions: programming the material’s response so that shape-changing occurs under external magnetic field, or changes in its electric properties develops under mechanical deformation. This opens the door to the design of soft robots or smart sensors and substrates…

Speeding up a camera shutter a million million times enables researchers to understand how materials move heat around and is a major step in advancing sustainable energy applications. Researchers are coming to understand that the best performing materials in sustainable energy applications, such as converting sunlight or waste heat to electricity, often use collective fluctuations of clusters of atoms within a much larger structure. This process is often referred to as “dynamic disorder.” Dynamic disorder Understanding dynamic disorder in materials…

Internally funded project modifies commercially available tester for electric vehicle applications. A Southwest Research Institute team has developed a mechanical testing device to analyze fluids and lubricants formulated for electric vehicles. The team modified a commercial tribology testing device to give it the capability to evaluate the impact of electric currents in fluids, measuring the wear and friction on the automobile parts in the presence of an applied voltage. “The electrification of the automotive industry has accelerated over recent years,…

This ultrafast infrared spectroscopy method would fulfill many unmet needs in experimental molecular science, revealing various high-speed phenomena in detail. Infrared spectroscopy is a non-invasive tool to identify unknown samples and known chemical substances. It is based on how different molecules interact with infrared light. You may have seen this tool at airports, where they screen for illicit drugs. The technique has many applications: liquid biopsy, environmental gas monitoring, contaminant detection, forensic analyses, exoplanet search, etc. But the traditional infrared spectroscopy…

Recently, a team led by Prof. ZHANG Shiwu from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and their collaborators from UK and Australia developed a new electro-mechano responsive elastomer that autonomously adjust stiffness, conductivity and strain sensitivity in response to changes in external mechanical loads and electrical signals. Their research was published in Science Advances. Nowadays, more and more application scenarios like soft robotics and medical surgical equipment call for self-tunable intelligent materials. A widely adopted solution is…

Intercalation of indium into nanostructures promises applications to nanocircuitry. Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have successfully threaded atoms of indium metal in between individual fibers in bundles of transition metal chalcogenide nanofibers. By steeping the bundles in indium gas, rows of atoms were able to make their way in between the fibers to create a unique nanostructure via intercalation. Through simulations and resistivity measurements, individual bundles were shown to have metallic properties, paving the way for application as flexible nanowires…

At the BAU 2023 trade fair, Fraunhofer UMSICHT will present innovative solutions for the construction of the future at the joint booth of the Fraunhofer Building Innovation Alliance (Hall C2, Booth 528) from April 17 to 22. Energy and CO2 can be saved with the new lightweight resource-saving glass-foil roof coverings; a vertical water retention system absorbs precipitation water and stores it directly so that overloading of the sewer system and flooding in heavily sealed areas can be avoided. In…

Published on Scientific Reports, the robotics prototype takes inspiration from earthworms. It is 45 cm long and weighs 605 grams and it is the first robot build by replicating the morphology and the functioning of real earthworms. Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) in Genoa has realized a new soft robot inspired by the biology of earthworms,which is able to crawl thanks to soft actuators that elongate or squeeze, when air passes through them or is drawn out….

As part of the “SimPerm” project, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden have developed an innovative measuring technique for reliably determining the permeation rate of films. For the first time, the permeation rate of water vapor and oxygen can be detected simultaneously. Manufacturers, users and developers of barrier films can now determine the gas permeability of barrier films for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic solar cells, tablets, food and other air-sensitive goods more…

Framework structure with nano insulation enables components for soft robotics and flexible electronics. Classical robots, such as those used for manufacturing, can lift heavy loads and repeat automated processes precisely. But they are too rigid and bulky for delicate work and interaction with humans. The research field of soft robotics works on the development of robots made of soft, organic materials and flexible technical components. Materials researchers at Kiel University have now developed a novel soft conductive material. Unlike conventional…

Weather reports, climate models or rocket launches – they all need precise data from the atmosphere. To acquire such data, scientists can use LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) systems to shoot laser beams into the sky. The backscattered light can be used to calculate wind and temperature data at altitudes of up to 100 km. A team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT and the Leibniz Institute for Atmospheric Physics IAP has developed a portable LIDAR system that…