Pilot projects

In our twelve pilot projects, interdisciplinary teams composed of members of the Fraunhofer institutes and the University of Freiburg develop sustainable solutions in the framework of Sustainability Center’s research topics.

Partly, the teams are supported by other companies and research institutions such as the Institute for Applied Ecology (Öko-Institut) or Hahn Schickard.

The Projects are being funded until 2018 by the German federal state Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with funds amounting to 6.5 million euros.

In the pilot project “ActiPipe”, the basis for an innovative, resilient, efficient and eco-friendly cooling method is developed: cooling with the aid of active heat pipes making use of the magnetocaloric effect. More Info

In this project, a global classification system for the strains solar plants are exposed to location-dependently is developed. This way, extensive information about the spatial distribution of risks that are determined by climate and environment can be obtained. More Info

The pilot project “G-ONET” conducts research on efficient graphene-organic materials for super capacitors that can be produced cost-efficiently and scalable and, at the same time, fulfill criteria of green chemistry. More Info

In the pilot project HyCO2, methods how electrolysis hydrogen and carbon dioxide can be converted into easily storable liquid energy carriers are investigated. More Info

The project advances technological innovations of sensors in order to achieve a better risk assessment and to improve measures for hazard prevention or mitigation. More Info

In this project, a bio-based plastic is developed and optimized for the application in the 3D printing process. A special focus is put on the investigation of the entire process chain. More Info

The aim of this pilot project is to improve the properties of fiber reinforced plastics through specific modification of the interfaces between fiber and matrix. The applied surface reactions are equally applicable for different fiber-matrix systems. More Info

In the pilot project NaLuWiLeS, promising new theoretical concepts to increase the efficiency of solar cells and LEDs are put to practical application. More Info

The aim of the pilot projects is to provide methodologically sound, practical and validated resilience criteria for technical systems in order to evaluate and optimize them already during development with respect to resilience. More Info

This pilot project deals with the investigation of self-healing processes of selected plant species. The objective is to evaluate the potential of bio-inspired self-healing materials. More Info

In the pilot project “susCOMP”, homogeneous, self-reinforcing plastics are developed. It is a completely new approach to generate 100% recyclable "all-polyethylene" composite materials. More Info

SusLight develops technical measures for the continuing improvement of LED lamp efficiency, for example by the development of energy saving control electronics. Furthermore, we investigate how the acceptance and market penetration of LED technology can be increased. More Info