Current issue: Sustainability

Germany’s SMEs want to know how sustainable their enterprises are. An on-going project is helping by giving them free benchmarking reports.

For many of today’s companies, energy efficient manufacturing is a compelling sales argument. At Fraunhofer IPK, we are developing a broad spectrum of solutions that ensure transparency in showing that each stage of the product life cycle uses the necessary minimum of energy.

The »ecoMaker« research project has scientists from the Institute of Machine Tools and Factory Management IWF at the TU Berlin join forces with partner labs to examine the sustainability of open workshops.

Scientists are developing a new kind of plastic that is produced from waste and easily degradable in under one year.

If machines and systems are to function reliably in the long-term, they need intelligent monitoring and maintenance. In the age of digitalization, AI-driven smart maintenance is the name of the game. In conversation with FUTUR, Christoph Plüss, CTO of the UNITED GRINDING Group, and Claudio Geisert, research engineer in maintenance and overhaul at Fraunhofer IPK, talk about the advantages of smart maintenance and how industry can make the best use of them.

Manufacturing companies must save energy. The new EnEffReg technology can automatically optimize plant operations, thanks to its smart control technology.

The Lab for Energy Efficiency makes solutions hands-on and tangible.

The balance sheet-oriented company report is old news. Today, company reports are reviews and outlooks rolled into one. Their preparation becomes a strategic tool.

In the circular economy, raw materials are being recovered and prepared for future production processes.

Alumni Column by Prof. Dr. Alexander Mattes, Kiel University of Applied Sciences