Press Releases 2017

Fraunhofer ISI presents an update of its 2015 energy storage roadmap with its roadmap “Highenergy batteries 2030+ and prospects for future battery technologies“. The 2017 roadmap deals with challenges concerning the research and development (R&D) of high-energy batteries, for which a massive expansion in cell production capacities is currently taking place worldwide.

Demand for copper is increasing worldwide, which is why questions of availability and recycling are becoming increasingly urgent. With a model that enables detailed statements on copper circulation in the EU as well as on the use and recycling of copper, Fraunhofer ISI makes an important contribution to the recording of copper flows in Europe. The knowledge about this is not only important for the copper processing industry, but also represents an important basis for the future development of a sustainable industrial and raw materials policy.

For the sixth time, the Federal Association of German Industry and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Construction and Nuclear Safety awarded the IKU environmental prize. 133 companies competed with their products and services. The jury's decision was based on the scientific evaluation of the applications by Fraunhofer ISI.

Scientists from Fraunhofer ISI and KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) have compared the performance of battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in Germany and the US. The results have now been published in the journal “Scientific Reports”.

Research into rare diseases is often difficult for medical and economic reasons. At the same time, there are hardly any studies in health research that involve citizens actively in the research process as it is in Citizen Science projects. A new study under the direction of Fraunhofer ISI tackles both problems and comprehensively involves rare disease sufferers and their relatives.

Some 630 million people live in the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Between 2007 and 2015, there was enormous growth in the economy here, by 5.3 percent per year on average – and the demand for energy is also rising as a result. How to deal with this is shown by the fifth ASEAN Energy Outlook, which the Fraunhofer ISI and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) presented during the Ministers and CEO dialogue at the 35th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM).

In May 2018, the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will enter into force. This requires companies and public authorities to carry out data protection impact assessments (DPIA) in certain cases. In this context, a new BMBF-funded project led by Fraunhofer ISI is testing a process for carrying out impact assessments.

In the eWayBW project, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment is funding construction of a test route in the Murgtal near Karlsruhe from September 2017. There are still many unresolved questions concerning the operation of such trucks. A consortium coordinated by Fraunhofer ISI is studying research questions as part of the scientific accompanying research.

While plug-in electric vehicles are regarded as a sustainable solution for passenger cars, alternative fuel vehicles for heavy duty trucks are still out of sight. A consortium of Fraunhofer ISI, Fraunhofer IML and PTV Transport Consult GmbH has determined the current research needs for fuel cell technology as a drive train for heavy duty trucks in the context of the scientific support of the German Government‘s Mobility and Fuels Strategy.

The Fraunhofer ISI publishes a new analysis of possible economic impacts of the change towards electric mobility. While recent studies point out the potential negative economic consequences of the ban of cars with a combustion engine, the experts of Fraunhofer ISI underline the potential for positive impacts on jobs and value added for the business location Germany trough electriv mobility.