Press Releases

Press Releases 2011

 

German Future Award 2011: Electronics made of plastic

Dec 20, 2011: The "Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2011" was won by a team comprising existing and former Fraunhofer researchers. Professor Karl Leo, Dr. Jan Blochwitz-Nimoth and Dr. Martin Pfeiffer were honored for their pioneering achievements in the field of organic electronics.

Fraunhofer researchers receive the Franco-German Business Award 2011

Dec 06, 2011: Fraunhofer researchers have teamed up with their French colleagues at the Carnot-Institut Laboratoire d‘électronique des technologies de l‘information CEA-LETI to develop reusable substrates for III-V multi-junction solar cells – and on December 5, 2011, were presented with the Franco German Business Award for their work.

European industry and research centres join forces to create a European Technology Platform for High Performance Computing

Nov 10, 2011: Major European suppliers of High Performance Computing (HPC) technologies, Allinea, ARM, Bull, Caps Entreprise, Eurotech, ParTec, STMicroelectronics and Xyratex associated with HPC research centres BSC, CEA, CINECA, Fraunhofer, Forschungszentrum Juelich and LRZ have decided to combine forces to create a European Technology Platform (ETP), building on the previous work of PROSPECT and Teratec.

Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research at The University of Western Ontario

Sep 22, 2011: In July 2011, the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT began a long-term collaboration with The University of Western Ontario (Western) in London, Ontario. German and Canadian researchers will work together on the process and material development of composite materials for the transportation, construction materials, and renewable energy sectors in the joint “Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research @ Western,“ a latest state-of-the-art equipped press centre in full industrial scale.
 

Fraunhofer Prize 2011: Flexible films for photovoltaics

May 26, 2011: Displays that can be rolled up and flexible solar cells – both are potential future markets. Barrier layers that protect thin-film solar cells from oxygen and water vapor and thus increase their useful life are an essential component.
 

Fraunhofer Prize 2011: Superior sound for telephones, mobile and related devices

May 26, 2011: Telephone calls and video conferences with a sound quality that approaches that of direct communication are now possible with a new audio coding technology - it is almost as if the discussion participants are sitting across from one another.
 

Fraunhofer Prize 2011: Solar inverters: losses are cut in half

May 26, 2011: A switching trick makes it possible to cut the losses of a series-production inverter in half and increase the efficiency from 96 to 98 percent. The HERIC®-topology makes it possible to achieve a world-record efficiency of more than 99 percent.
 

Fraunhofer Prize 2011: Medicines from plants

May 26, 2011: Some people think of herbal teas, others of tobacco when they hear the buzzword ‚medicines from plants‘. One research team succeeded in producing biopharmaceuticals – such as an antibody against HIV, for example, – in tobacco plants.
 

Hugo Geiger Prize 2011: Innovations for tomography

May 26, 2011: The development of a handy X-ray tomograph achieved second place in the Hugo Geiger prize. The work that achieved the third place deals with a terahertz measuring system for spectral tomography that also measures how much radiation penetrates the object or is being reflected by it.

Significant rise in income from industrial contracts

May 10, 2011: The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is emerging stronger from the global economic crisis. Last year the finance volume increased to 1.66 billion euros and the staffing level to 18,000, with the creation of nearly 1,000 new jobs.

Transition to renewable energy stimulates the economy

May 10, 2011: The transition to renewable energy is set to deliver an economic pay off as well in the years to come. Various studies show that a shift to alternative energy sources will raise the GNP in the coming decade and create new jobs, as Prof. Eicke Weber, spokesperson for the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance, points out. Fraunhofer scientists are developing concepts and solutions for the transition as it takes shape.