Reference projects

Fraunhofer IGB is working successfully in numerous (joint) projects funded by German Federal Ministries, by the European Union or by foundations. Here we present a selection of current and completed projects.

New on this page:

April 2026 – December 2029

SAFE-CO₂

Switchable adsorbers for energy-efficient CO₂ capture

Adsorbers for separating CO₂ from air (Direct Air Capture, DAC) release CO₂ at low temperatures

April 2026 – March 2027

ReZyKat

Catalysts based on bio-based low-eutectic solvents and recyclable metals

New bio-based catalysts for hydrogenation of five-membered ring compounds

March 2026 – February 2029

HollowEL

Scaling up bubble-free PEM electrolysis

For bubble-free H2 production, water is fed directly into the polymer membrane via integrated hollow fibers

March 2026 – February 2029

P2M2X

Plasma-membrane reactor for the splitting of CO2

Plasma-membrane reactor for the direct splitting of carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen (O2)

  • Electrodialysis.
    © Fraunhofer IGB

    Electrodialysis.

    Funding: BMBF || Duration: April 2019 – March 2022 || In the “abonoCARE®” project, nine small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have joined forces with six research institutions in order to develop economic value chains for nutrient recycling from organic residues and to offer sustainable high-performance fertilizer products for efficient agriculture. For this purpose, different technologies for the processing and formulation of organic residues are being developed.

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  • Funding: Fraunhofer and Max Planck cooperation program || Duration: January 2019 – December 2022 || The "eBioCO2n" project, which is being carried out jointly by Fraunhofer and Max Planck scientists, pursues an ambitious approach to converting CO2 into chemicals with electricity from renewable sources: Similar to photosynthesis, CO2 is to be fixed with electron-transmitting biocatalysts and then linked to further enzymatic conversion steps.

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  • Bioprocess from production, purification, and analytics to high-throughput detection of impurities such as DNA (hcDNA) and protein (HCP)
    © Fraunhofer IGB

    Bioprocess from production, purification, and analytics to high-throughput detection of impurities such as DNA and protein (created with BioRender.com)

    Funding: Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism || Duration: December 2025 – August 2026 || We use automated analytics to accelerate the development of production and purification strategies for adeno-associated viruses (AAV).

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  • Test rig for parallel characterization of three humidifying membranes.
    © Fraunhofer IGB

    Test rig for parallel characterization of three humidifying membranes.

    Funding: BMWi || Durationt: June 2018 – March 2021 || Membrane humidifiers play an important role in the fuel cell as external components for water management. In the AMBITION project, an extensive infrastructure and the necessary know-how were established to comprehensively characterize humidifier membranes. Thus, the water transfer of hollow fiber and flat membranes can now be determined automatically (24/7) and tools for rational membrane selection are available.

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  • Wastewater treatment plant in India

    Wastewater treatment plant in India.

    Funding: BMU || Duration: Novemver 2020 – October 2022 || India's fast-growing cities are faced with the task of modernizing their water supply and wastewater disposal systems. In order to support German companies in opening up the Indian market, the AQUA-Hub project is implementing two Water Innovation Hubs in selected "smart cities" and flanking them with demonstrations of German measurement technology.

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  • Funding: »Fraunhofer vs. Corona« || Duration: October 2020 – September 2021 || Aerosols pose an increased risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2. This is where the "Virus Grill" project comes in. The aim is to inactivate viruses by heating the air, to reduce the probability of infection via droplets suspended in the ambient air. Virus Grill is a subproject of the AVATOR project exploring ways to reduce the risk of infection from aerosol-borne viruses in enclosed spaces.

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  • AVID-Virus
    © RDVector/stock.adobe.com

    AVID-Virus

    Funding: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft || Duration: January 2024 – December 2026 || The AVID project develops an aptamer-based filter cartridge that enriches infectious viruses from water and wastewater, enabling fast and reliable monitoring of viral contamination. For the first time, this provides a robust distinction between infectious and inactivated viruses for water analytics.

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  • Early stem cell (red) adhesion on albumin coating (green) after one minute.
    © Fraunhofer IGB

    Early stem cell (red) adhesion on albumin coating (green) after one minute.

    Funding: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft || Duration: June 2014 – May 2018 || As part of Fraunhofer's “Theranostic Implants” lighthouse project, Fraunhofer IGB developed an albumin coating for titanium implants that significantly accelerates the adhesion of mesenchymal stem cells. The layers can be sterilized with standard methods (gamma sterilization, electron beam sterilization) without any loss of function.

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  • Funding: BMBF || Duration: November 2020 – November 2023 || With fossil-based resources becoming more scarce, the textile industry has an ever growing need to identify and develop alternative raw materials for manufacturing textiles fibers. In the AlgaeTex project, researchers are striving to manufacture a variety of polymers using algae-based fatty acids as the main constituent. Their goal here is to develop polyesters and polyamides suitable for melt spinning processes, so they can be widely used in the textile industry.

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  • Samples of different cellobiose- and mannosylerythritol lipid variants ready for shipment.
    © Fraunhofer IGB

    Samples of different cellobiose- and mannosylerythritol lipid variants ready for shipment.

    Funding: BMBF || Duration: July 2021 – June 2024 || The Biosurfactants Innovation Alliance is the first strategic alliance of renowned companies and research institutions in Germany aiming at finding sustainable and scalable alternatives to chemically synthesized surfactants, which have so far been produced from fossil raw materials. Therefore, we are examining and developing the process engineering production of biosurfactants in the alliance using biotechnological methods based on domestic renewable raw materials and residues. Together with our project partners, we systematically investigate their potential applications – for example, as components of detergents and cleaning agents, in cosmetics, bioremediation, crop protection and food.

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