Press

Earlier this year, the European Commission unveiled its “Fit for 55” climate and energy package. The proposal includes new tools to achieve EU energy efficiency targets, while aiming to bind Member States to the increased climate targets. A new study by Stefan Scheuer Consulting and Fraunhofer ISI reviews the proposed governance tools within the updated Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), and makes recommendations to improve the impact of the package.

From October 5 to 8, the 12th “International Sustainability Transitions“ (IST) conference 2021 was hosted by Fraunhofer ISI for the Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN). Over the course of three days, the sustainabillty transitions research community discussed topics such as sustainability transitions in organizations, industries, individuals and the role of policy, but also about theoretical and methodological contributions to sustainability transitions research.

Lean Management with its motto 'avoiding waste through lean production', was invented in Japan more than three decades ago. Since then it has established itself as one of the guiding principles of operational value creation. Within this context a new study by Fraunhofer ISI analyzes the current state and level of implementation of Lean 4.0 principles in the manufacturing sector in Germany. The study also looks at the reciprocal effects between Lean Management and Industry 4.0 and shows that the two principles are not contradictory, but have synergetic effects.

The project “High power charging for trucks in long-distance operation (HoLa)”, which is led by Fraunhofer ISI and supported by the VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry), is one of three innovation clusters for climate-friendly truck drive technologies recently set up by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). In concrete terms, two high power charging points using the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) will be installed at each of four locations in the HoLa project and tested under real logistics operating conditions. These charging points will support the use of this new system in everyday operations, and form the basis for large-scale expansion of the technology. 13 partners from research and industry, including four truck manufacturers, are involved in the project, which was officially launched at a kick-off event on September 27.