Fraunhofer IWKS is connected internationally

The sustainable use of our resources is a global issue. That is why we also seek networking on an international level. We offer solutions that provide answers to global questions about the efficient use of resources.

The European network BRAVO (Bauxite Residue and Aluminium Valorisation Operations) aims to improve aluminium production along the entire value chain. In joint projects with European partners, the Fraunhofer IWKS conducts research activities to this end.

With the overriding goal of securing the supply of raw materials for Europe in the long term through innovation-oriented top-level research, the Fraunhofer IWKS has also networked internationally with industry, research institutions and universities along the entire value chain.

The Fraunhofer IWKS is an active member of the Knowledge and Innovation Community EIT RawMaterials, the largest consortium in Europe on the subject of raw materials (sustainable raw material extraction, extraction, processing, recycling and substitution) with over 120 partners from more than 20 countries.

EIT RawMaterials is funded by the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology), an institution of the European Union. Its mission is to enable the sustainable competitiveness of the European minerals, metals and materials sector along the value chain by promoting innovation, education and entrepreneurship.

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EURELCO is an open network, which aims to promote Enhanced Landfill Mining (ELFM) through innovation in technical, legal, social, economic, environmental and organisational terms. As one of currently 53 partners, the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Cycles and Resource Strategy IWKS participates in the network in the form of cutting-edge research on ELFM technologies and is head of the working group "Science and Technology Mapping".

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Founded in 1983, the European Materials Research Society (E-MRS) now has more than 4,000 members from industry, government, academia and research laboratories who regularly meet to discuss the latest technological developments in functional materials.

The E-MRS differs from many single-disciplinary societies in that it encourages scientists, engineers and research managers to share information on an interdisciplinary platform and recognizes professional and technical excellence by promoting awards for achievements from students to senior scientists.

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The mobility sector plays a leading role within the European industry, with the fields of material development, process engineering and recycling technologies. The development of sustainable materials and technologies is a central challenge and the core of innovation for European industry.

Within the framework of the lighthouse project "Raw material solutions for a sustainable European mobility industry", the NoI E-Energy deals with material development in the sectors of energy conversion and energy storage within the mobility industry. The research focus is on energy converters such as electric motors, electric generators, fuel cells and solar cells as well as energy storage components such as batteries and supercapacitors. The consortium partners offer support in the early stages of the innovation process as well as in the development of pilot plants and infrastructures on an industrial scale. Fraunhofer's activities cover the substitution of materials, the recycling of strategic materials and the environmentally friendly processing of components and systems for energy conversion and storage.

In the working group Directive-compliant design for WEEE, RoHS and ErP, participants prepare themselves for the development and manufacture of directive-compliant products in the long term.

Experts from the electronics industry and research have been meeting three times a year since 2005. At the meetings the current status of national and international legislation in the field of environment and electronics is discussed, methods and tools for the development of environmentally compatible products up to the declaration of ingredients are presented and explained with examples.