Co-planar optoelectrowetting device allows for droplet access from above that increases microfluidic input/output system integration configurations while achieving faster droplet speeds. Microfluidic technologies have seen great advances over the past few decades in addressing applications such as biochemical analysis, pharmaceutical development, and point-of-care diagnostics. Miniaturization of biochemical operations performed on lab-on-a-chip microfluidic platforms benefit from reduced sample, reagent, and waste volumes, as well as increased parallelization and automation. This allows for more cost-effective operations along with higher throughput and sensitivity…
Researchers find replacement for toxic solvent … Scientists at SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre, Swansea University, have found a way to replace the toxic, unsustainable solvents currently needed to make the next generation of solar technology. Printed carbon perovskite solar cells have been described as a likely front runner to the market because they are extremely efficient at converting light to electricity, cheap and easy to make. A major barrier to the large-scale manufacture and commercialisation of these cells is…
The Fraunhofer IWES is now starting construction work on a third rotor blade test bench at its Großer Westring site in Bremerhaven, Germany. Once complete, the bench will be used to test state-of-the-art prototypes measuring 115 m in length and even more. Some €19 million are set to be invested in the project bearing the name “Future Concept for Fatigue Strength of Rotor Blades Phase II”, which will see the construction of a testing infrastructure with a modular test block…
On the street, in the parking lot, at the traffic light … A great opportunity for development and further expansion in the field of electromobility is inductive charging. Wireless charging makes it possible to automate the charging process so that the battery can be charged automatically at any time, for example in inner-city car parks, in front of traffic lights or on selected sections of road and while driving. A team of researchers from the Institute for Electrical Energy Conversion…
New case study shows potential for reducing CO₂ emissions. Geothermal energy as a sustainable energy source can make its own significant contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions in Germany. This is shown by a case study of the Kirchstockach power plant published by scientists at the Center for Energy Technology (ZET) at the University of Bayreuth in the journal “Renewable Energy”. Geothermal research at ZET is integrated into the Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria, which has been funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Science…
– a lightweight solution for battery electric vehicles. A cost-efficient lightweight battery housing for battery electric vehicles has been developed at Fraunhofer LBF. Using this, it is possible to achieve a 40 percent reduction in weight compared to an aluminum housing. Despite the application of fiber-reinforced plastic composites, component cost is low due to a specially developed, highly-efficient manufacturing process and a stress equivalent structural design. The mechanical properties were validated in the GHOST project funded by the European Commission…
– pave way for powering chip-sized optical systems. The field of photonics aims to transform all manner of electronic devices by storing and transmitting information in the form of light, rather than electricity. Beyond light’s raw speed, the way that information can be layered in its various physical properties makes devices like photonic computers and communication systems tantalizing prospects. Before such devices can go from theory to reality, however, engineers must find ways of making their light sources — lasers…
Hydrogen technology will also be used on rails in the future. In the future, regional trains will be equipped with fuel cells that convert oxygen and hydrogen into electrical energy. In its “Heat2Comfort” project, funded by the BMWI, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Dresden is contrib-uting to this type of emission-free and low-noise mode of transport. Together with its partners, the Hörmann Vehicle Engineering GmbH, the Wärme-tauscher Sachsen GmbH as well as the Institute…
Silicon carbide power modules… If electric vehicles are to achieve greater distances, it’s not only a matter of optimizing their batteries. Instead, the entire power train has to be improved. A Fraunhofer team is therefore developing electronic control units, so-called power inverters, which convert the energy between battery and motor much more efficiently than is the case today. When it comes to an electric car’s range, many of us automatically think of the battery. The more energy a battery can…
Fraunhofer program to fight against the pandemic … The disinfection robot BALTO — named after a sled dog who carried urgently needed vaccines to a highly inaccessible region of Alaska a hundred years ago — is capable of disinfecting door knobs and similar objects. It does this autonomously, reacting to human beings in the surrounding area at the same time. An interface with the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process makes this possible. Never before has hygiene attracted so much attention…
Renewable energies and hydrogen technology The idea is that private customers will, in the future, be able to produce the hydrogen they need using small wind turbines. Lightweight construction experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP, at BTU Cottbus and an industrial partner are now developing the key technologies required: small, efficient rotors and safe tanks. According to data from the German Environment Agency, private households currently are responsible for about a quarter of Germany’s energy consumption…
Improving the Production of Battery Cells … Setting up high-performance production centers for battery cells is high on the current agenda of the automotive industry. The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen is proactively working towards this goal: In the BMBF project “HoLiB” and the AiF project “MikroPuls”, for example, scientists from Aachen are investigating how laser technology can be used to economically contact and join dissimilar materials. The trend away from the combustion engine to the electric…
The now-familiar sight of traditional propeller wind turbines could be replaced in the future with wind farms containing more compact and efficient vertical turbines. New research from Oxford Brookes University has found that the vertical turbine design is far more efficient than traditional turbines in large scale wind farms, and when set in pairs the vertical turbines increase each other’s performance by up to 15%. A research team from the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics (ECM) at Oxford Brookes…
35.9 % for III-V//Silicon Solar Cell … Fraunhofer ISE has been conducting cutting-edge research in photovoltaics for forty years. Continually the institute has brought forth record cell efficiencies in different material classes and made important contributions in reducing the costs of solar electricity, which is the cheapest form of energy generation today. Photovoltaics, along with wind energy, is the central pillar of the energy transition. Aiming to further reduce the area required for PV installations as well as material use,…
Trust first … In order to use electronic devices securely and reliably, it is important to know where they were manufactured, how they operate and how they are constructed. Although there are currently a number of technical solutions for trusted electronics, there is still no consistent methodology for trustworthiness that adequately covers the entire value chain. This is where the research project “Velektronik”, which started in March 2021, comes in. Fraunhofer IPMS is working on trusted manufacturing processes of elec-tronic…
… as environmentally friendly and cost-efficient alternative. The SUPERSMART research project funded by EIT RawMaterials has shown proof: printed electronic components such as sensors and smart labels on paper can play an essential role in building a smart environment for production, retail and logistics. Efficient and reliable production processes make them economically competitive. In terms of resource conservation, climate and the environment, electronics printed on paper have outstanding advantages over conventional substrates and manufacturing processes for smart electronic components. Yesterday…
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