Press releases

The packaging, automotive, and other consumer goods industries have re-ceived EUR 14.5 million funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 pro-gramme for a project aiming to replace petroleum-based goods with bio-based products. The INN-PRESSME project will function as an ecosystem, in-volving the development of recyclable and/or biodegradable packaging, ener-gy, and vehicle solutions and other consumer goods. Coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the project involves 26 other European organisations from nine European countries.

How can individualized luxury mobility be designed for the world of the year 2040? A world that will be driven by the idea of a circular economy and products with significantly longer lives. A world that will also be characterized by the desire for individual and quickly evolving lifestyles. How can the maximum level of driving comfort be achieved between these two polar opposites? To answer these questions, an interdisciplinary research team made up of experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, and the Fraunhofer for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut, WKI, has developed “Vision PI,” a modular futuristic mobility concept.

High-pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM) is used to produce high-quality applications, e.g. in the automotive industry. The components have a very high lightweight potential due to good material properties at low weight and are suitable for structural automotive parts, e.g. roof, doors and trunk lids.

Innovative insulating materials made of shape memory polymers are developed and tested by the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research IAP, for Chemical Technology ICT and for Building Physics IBP within the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Programmable Materials CPM. The high-tech foams are to be used as functional materials, for example in the field of construction.

Uganda’s Vision 2040 aims at building a green economy and clean environment where the ecosystem is sustainably managed, and the livability of the urban systems greatly improved. This calls for building a modern energy sector that creates economic opportunities and enhances access to green energy at affordable price which can be achieved by bridging the gap between industry and the academia, and commercialization of research and development.

To reach the climate goals, energy and fuel consumption of vehicles has to be reduced. This can be achieved by reducing the vehicle weight by substituting metal parts by polymer parts. At the same time, these parts need to be stable and safe. One option to ensure this is to use fibre reinforcements in polymer parts. Many of the polymers used today are not recyclable, which is an ecological and economical drawback. The consortium of the EU-funded project ECOXY found a solution by using recyclable bio-based matrices, thus addressing two topics at the same time: lightweight and recyclability.

Designed for performance and durability, synthetic plastics have become indispensable as “materials of every-day use”. However, their indiscriminate disposal has led to an acute problem of plastic pollution. In order to solve this issue, the European Union not only tries to implement a circular system to reuse, repair and recycle plastics (circular economy) but it also aims to produce plastics of renewable resources (bio-based plastics). Poly-lactic acid (PLA) is one of the most promising and frequently used polyesters from this category.

Plastic in cars reduces their weight. Currently, however, camshaft modules, which are a key component of powertrains, are still being made from aluminum. Now a research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, in collaboration with their partners, has succeeded in manufacturing a camshaft module from fiber-reinforced thermoset polymers. This lightweight design element helps lower engine weight and reduces assembly costs. It is currently available as a functional demonstrator.