2012|13 Annual Report Fraunhofer IGB

7 developing and establishing a “catalyst and process screen- ing” technology platform which harnesses naturally occurring synthesis activities. On October 11, 2012 we celebrated the inauguration of the new lab building with 200 guests drawn from industry, academia and politics. In addition, the State of Bavaria made further funding available, which is being used to develop expertise in chemical energy storage. Particular im- portance is attached to both the material and the energetic use of residual biomass in raw material and energy conver- sion. In this context, in October 2012 our BMBF-funded two- stage multi-substrate demonstration plant EtaMax was taken into operation on the premises of the EnBW combined heat and power plant in Stuttgart-Gaisburg. The business areas medicine and pharmacy were also signiﬁ- cantly expanded last year. In December 2012 the Bavarian State approved the funding of a “translational center for med- ical products and cell-based regenerative therapies” in Würz- burg. Lead-managed by Fraunhofer Oncology Project Group in Würzburg, this center is to be grown in the next ﬁve years with the aim of achieving quicker conversion of ﬁndings from materials research and regenerative medicine into clinical ap- plication. A second highlight was the launch of a co-operation with the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In the next three years joint research projects will be funded with the Jerusalem University School of Pharmacy, investigating the experimental validation of active agents and drug delivery. With the integration of the IPF in the IGVT – approved by the governing bodies of the University of Stuttgart in January 2013 – we have signiﬁcantly extended our basic research ca- pabilities in plasma physics, which is now combined with and complemented by plasma chemistry and plasma process en- gineering. The new Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology IGVP is part of the Faculty of Energy, Process Engineering and Biotechnology (Faculty 4) at the Uni- versity of Stuttgart and has a staff of around 100. While the main focus was on progressing our R&D activities, a continued major issue last year was sustainable personnel development, for our scientiﬁc and commercial success is sub- stantially dependent on the employees of the Fraunhofer IGB and their colleagues at the Stuttgart University institute IGVP. Building on the results of the Fraunhofer-wide employee sur- vey, we have started internal projects to improve leadership, communication, and knowledge management, as well as to optimize the interfaces between the departments on the one hand and the departments and administration on the other. In 2012, we acquired further customers from industry, as well attracting additional public funding for R&D projects. I would be delighted if this report piques your interest in our R&D activities: together with our customers and partners we aim to shape the future of the region, of Germany and of Europe through innovative, sustainable developments and to open up “markets beyond tomorrow”. I hope you enjoy and are inspired by the new annual report, and look forward to suggestions and productive collaboration. Best regards Thomas Hirth

2012|13 Annual Report Fraunhofer IGB

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