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ePaper created 2014-05-07, 13:23:14 | version 1.30.01
Last year the Fraunhofer IGB turned 60 and – as at its incep- tion in 1953 – still bears “interfaces” in its name. Equally, research into interfacial phenomena still accounts for a major share of the R&D activities at the institute. Interfaces separate two phases or substances from each other. At interfaces, properties change abruptly, or, in other words, they are the place where new phenomena occur – and give rise to the in- novations of today, facilitated through the interplay of various disciplines. 60 years mean six decades of innovations and contributions to the sustainable development of science, economy and soci- ety. Thanks to its employees, the Fraunhofer IGB has evolved over the last 60 years into an innovative body at the forefront of interfacial R&D. The respective directors have each exer- cised their own particular formative influence on the subject areas and the disciplines pursued by the institute. Today, the institute serves the five business areas Medicine, Pharmacy, Chemistry, Environment and Energy with its core competences in Interfacial Engineering and Materials Science, Physical Pro- cess Technology, Environmental Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering, Molecular Biotechnology, and Cell and Tissue Engineering. Through its memberships in the Fraunhofer Life Sciences and MATERIALS groups as well as eight Fraunhofer alliances, the Fraunhofer IGB is firmly rooted in the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Over and above this, the institute benefits from its close association with the universities of Stuttgart, Tübingen, Ho- henheim, Würzburg, Munich and Halle-Wittenberg, which provide it with inspiration and insights from basic research that filter into the translation of research results into industrial practice. The reduction of global CO2 emissions, combating disease and hunger, and securing a global supply of water, raw materials and energy are the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Against this backdrop, developing and realizing sustainable processes and products is becoming ever more vital. The sustainable use of natural resources and develop- ing efficient value chains, processes and products are core priorities in bioeconomy research. Through our work on the sustainable material and energetic utilization of renewable raw materials in Baden-Württemberg, Germany and Europe, we want to make a leading contribution toward realizing the bioeconomy. Last July, we joined with the universities of Baden-Württemberg in presenting the concluding report of the Bioeconomy Strategy Group to Science Minister Theresia Bauer, as the basis for Baden-Württemberg’s bioeconomy re- search strategy. Besides its work on organic raw materials, the IGB is working intensively on developing technologies for the extraction of rare earth elements from primary raw and residual materials. The focus here is on processes for chemical and biological leach liquors, as well as selective separation using electro- chemical and membrane-based processes. The IGB is there- fore also one of the partners on the Fraunhofer “Criticality of rare earth metals” lighthouse project. Developing resource and energy-efficient processes con- tinues to be a central focus of research at the Fraunhofer IGB. We are working together with partners from industry and academia to improve production process chains in both the Fraunhofer “E3 production” lighthouse project and the industry-on-campus project “Raw material and energy ef- ficiency through process innovations” funded by the Baden- Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts. This constitutes a key contribution by the Fraunhofer IGB to the regional resource efficiency strategy. In the interfacial area, we have significantly expanded our basic research capabilities in the past year by the integration of the IPF into the IGVT and its renaming as the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology IGVP. Plasma physics fundamentals are now complemented by com- petence in plasma dynamics and diagnostics, microwave tech- nology and plasma technology. Together with the Fraunhofer 6 “60 YEARS OF FRAUNHOFER IGB – 60 YEARS OF RESEARCH INTO INTERFACES – 60 YEARS OF INNOVATION FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY”