Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGBUnparalleled by any other institute, Fraunhofer IGB is unique in terms of combining biological and biotechnological expertise with bioprocess and interfacial engineering know-how. The convergence of these two dimensions is what enables the institute to bring biological principles to bear on technical applications in the context of interdisciplinary approaches and to establish biobased and bioinspired value chains for a wide range of industries – from laboratory scale to pilot scale. This unique selling point is also the result of the institute’s historical development.
»70 Jahre, 70 Stimmen«
© Fraunhofer IGB
»70 Jahre, 70 Stimmen«
© Fraunhofer IGB
»70 Jahre, 70 Stimmen«
© Fraunhofer IGB
70 years of Fraunhofer IGB
70 years of research for a better future
The IGB was founded as the Institute for Interfacial Physics and Chemistry in 1953 and subsequently taken over by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 1962. This year, the IGB celebrates its 70th birthday.
In the course of its 70-year history, the institute has acquired a vast array of further expertise and technologies, which remain part of its research scope to this day. The institute has not only been home to membrane research for well over 45 years but also to environmental and bioprocess engineering, with molecular biotechnology and cell technology having taken up residence there almost 30 years ago. For the past 15 years, the institute has been intensifying and expanding its industrial biotechnology activities.
Our institute branch in Leuna called Fraunhofer CBP offers scaling expertise and was officially opened in 2012. We are about to celebrate its 10th birthday in 2023, albeit belatedly. Our institute branch “Bio-, Electro- and Chemocatalysis BioCat”, which is based in Straubing and focuses on the use of renewable raw materials and CO2, was inaugurated at around the same time.
The “Mass Personalization” (Stuttgart) and “Chemical and Biosystems Technology” (Halle-Leipzig region) high-performance centers have been cementing cooperation with the worlds of science and business locally for five years. The discussion surrounding the biological transformation of technology as an enabler of more sustainable value creation has culminated in the establishment of Bioeconomy as a Fraunhofer Strategic Research Field and the founding of the Biointelligence Competence Center in Stuttgart.
At an international level, our cooperation activities with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and with Stellenbosch University are bearing fruit now that the Fraunhofer Innovation Platforms (FIP) have been set up in Israel and South Africa.
70 years of shaping the future
The people at the IGB have always been the key to its scientific and commercial success. The various institute directors have determined what the institute looks like today by steering it in particular strategic directions, which were always informed by the latest economic challenges in each case and the relevant research policy priorities.
Particularly at a research institute whose very lifeblood is innovation, employees that shape the research conducted at the IGB and energetically carry out their tasks with panache, creativity and, above all, personal conviction and motivation are the greatest asset of all. This is the principle that has always been followed and always will be. Through their dedicated efforts, they play a role in developing solutions for the urgent challenges of our age.
That is why we want our employees, former institute directors, and companions and partners from the worlds of research, politics and business to have their say in the course of this anniversary year through our “70 voices” campaign. This will be a time for looking back, looking forward, looking inward and looking outward. The campaign starts with Dr. Markus Wolperdinger, Director of the Fraunhofer IGB.