Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP

There is significant potential for saving energy in the area of heating and cooling energy which accounts for a large proportion of Germany’s energy consumption. Innovative materials that can be programmed to control heat transition can be a valuable tool in this scenario. The use of materials like these could, for instance, save up to 40 percent of the energy used to cool single-family homes.  

The packaging world is experiencing a shift away from plastic toward paper, cardboard or paperboard. In its latest report “Reusable plastic crates vs. single-use cardboard boxes — two packaging systems in competition”¹, the Fraunhofer UMSICHT and the Fraunhofer IBP explain the background to and correlations between the ecological effects of single-use cardboard boxes and reusable plastic crates. 

Until now, noisy and power-guzzling building dryers have normally been the only way of repairing water damage to apartments from leaking pipes or following heavy rain and flooding. The “FastDry”® technology developed by Fraunhofer researchers requires significantly less energy and works at least as quickly as conventional systems. The idea that underpins the technology is incredibly simple.

In the new episode of the „Made in Science“ podcast – the official podcast of the University Stuttgart - host Dr. Wolfgang Holtkamp meets Ann-Kathrin Briem. They talk about sustainability assessment in the context of her work at the High Performance Center Mass Personalisation and also "function-optimised biosurfactants", a sustainable alternative to chemically synthesised surfactants. 

Fraunhofer IBP has developed a series of interesting products that involved the entire expertise of its specialist departments. If you are interested in further solutions, please do not hesitate to contact us.