Press releases

The packaging world is experiencing a shift away from plastic toward paper, cardboard or paperboard. But how sustainable is this new trend? In its latest report “Reusable plastic crates vs. single-use cardboard boxes — two packag-ing systems in competition”¹, the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT and the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP were commissioned by the Stiftung Initiative Mehrweg (SIM) to explain the background to and correlations between the ecological effects of single-use cardboard boxes and reusable plastic crates. A general discourse on the topic of single-use vs. reusable solutions intends to help po-litical actors lay the groundwork for a viable circular economy of the future.

In the current study "resources SAVED by recycling", Fraunhofer UMSICHT analyzed for the recycling service provider Interzero which climate-related environmental damage can be avoided with recycling solutions and how high the resulting savings potentials are. The result: In 2021, Interzero could save one million greenhouse gas emissions and conserve 12.5 million tons of primary resources, thus avoiding costs of 199 million euros for climate-related environmental damage. Interzero will present further details of the study at K 2022.

Fraunhofer UMSICHT is developing new materials for the resource-efficient use of plastics. The focus is on bioplastics, a circular plastics economy and strategies for reducing macro- and microplastics in the environment. Fraunhofer UMSICHT presents bio-based and circular plastics on the fair K 2022 in hall 6, booth D67: valuable chemical intermediates from coffee grounds, a film material based on thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), PLA copounds for technical components and biodegradable mulch films.

More than 350 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide every year, and vast amounts of plastic waste simply end up in the environment. The circular economy offers enormous potential for keeping plastics in the loop and thus conserving resources and the environment. Since 2018, six Fraunhofer institutes in the Fraunhofer CCPE cluster have been researching how to make the plastics value chain circular, and Manfred Renner has been the new head of the cluster since August 2022. Research results, implementation projects and strategies to accelerate the transformation to a circular plastics economy will be presented by Fraunhofer CCPE at the first international Fraunhofer CCPE Summit on February 8 and 9, 2023 in Munich.

Prof. Manfred Renner and Prof. Christian Doetsch will take joint leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT from August 2022. As renowned scientists, they have most recently shaped the direction of the institute as heads of the Products division and Energy division respectively, and will now follow in the footsteps of Prof. Eckhard Weidner, who has entered retirement.

Whether combined heat and power (CHP) or chillers – in many German hospitals are plants which, due to their size, are excellently suited to promote the integration of renewable energies as well as to take advantage of short-term fluctuations in the price of electricity. Fraunhofer UMSICHT, Stadtwerke Bochum GmbH and Evangelisches Krankenhaus Hattingen have investigated the achievable potential of load shifting in the project "Hybrid Energy Storage Hospital (HESKH)". One of their results: If all CHP plants currently installed in hospitals are operated flexibly and the operation is optimized according to the market prices for electricity, there is – roughly estimated ¬– a load shifting potential of about 300 MW for positive and 200 MW for negative flexibility.

With around 100 participants and speakers from Australia, Europe, North and Central America, the third "Electrochemical Cell Concepts Colloquium – E3C" on May 19, 2022 was a complete success. This year, the presentations and discussions focused on CO₂ conversion and capture, 3D-printed electrodes and innovative cell and stack concepts.

The electrolyser producer Enapter has set itself the goal of developing its entire production process to run without negative impacts on the environment. As an important step on this journey, it is building the Enapter Campus production facility, which will be powered entirely from renewable energy produced on-site and in the neighbouring Bioenergiepark. The site in in Saerbeck, North Rhine-Westphalia combines electrolyser production, an R&D building, administration and office space, as well as a cantine over 82,000 square metres. Now the company wants to investigate what other measures can be implemented to achieve its “Life Cycle Impact Zero” aspirations – together with researchers from Fraunhofer UMSICHT, the Wuppertal Institute and the Institute of Sustainable Nutrition (iSuN) of FH Münster.

On March 7 and 8, 2023, the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT, CLIB – Industrial Biotechnology Cluster and 3N Kompetenzzentrum e. V. will organize the congress "BIO-raffiniert XII" in Oberhausen with the topic "From fossil to the future – with bioeconomy and biotechnology". The twelfth event of the congress series thus spans the arc from today's predominantly fossil raw material supply to biobased concepts of the future. See the program structure of the congress and apply for a presentation (or just save the date)!

From component development for electrolysis and fuel cells to the creation of concepts for storage and transport to the implementation of cross-sector approaches: Researchers at Fraunhofer UMSICHT provide solutions for the use of hydrogen from a single source. Anyone who would like to gain insights into the competencies and services of the institute is cordially invited to visit the state community stand.