In early March, Thuringia became a focus of federal research policy: Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär made her inaugural visit to Thuringia and, together with Thuringia’s Minister-President Mario Voigt, learned about current Thuringian research and innovation projects at the Fraunhofer Institutes IKTS and IOF.
The visit centered on the inauguration of the new research building at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena. The extension will house new laboratories, equipment for high-tech research, clean rooms, and offices. It will also include a new electron-beam lithography system for producing photonic components as well as a ground station for satellite-based quantum communication. This is already the institute’s third extension building. The project costs approximately 30 million euros, with the federal government and the state each contributing half.
At the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems in Hermsdorf (Fraunhofer IKTS), Minister Bär learned about current developments and strategic initiatives in energy and environmental technology. The institute uses ceramic components in many areas of plant engineering: to generate hydrogen and separate carbon dioxide, to synthesize platform chemicals and e-fuels, in large stationary batteries for power grids, and in water purification for the public and industry. The region surrounding Fraunhofer IKTS at its Hermsdorf site is one of the world’s leading clusters for these ceramic technologies.
Here, too, the minister was impressed: “The expertise that Fraunhofer IKTS has built up together with industry over the past few years is an important component of Germany’s competitiveness. Electricity storage, CCU, and water technologies based on ceramic materials not only contribute to Germany’s resilience and technological sovereignty; they can also become major export successes.”
