Highlights from research and development

The risk of becoming infected with Covid is particularly high indoors. Air purifiers are designed to rid the air of its viral load - and thus significantly help to combat the pandemic. The Fraunhofer IBP approaches this issue with the projects "Healthy Air Initiative," "AC/DC," and "Clean Air Acoustics."

Germany aims to become carbon neutral by 2045 - Fraunhofer IBP researchers are developing energy concepts for pilot districts and properties that address the goal of greenhouse gas neutrality.

Concrete is an indispensable building material and has a low CO₂ footprint. However, the huge quantities required make the cement industry one of the largest CO₂ emitters. Fraunhofer IBP is helping to identify the potential of concrete and to exploit it sustainably.

Climate change is already having a huge impact on the city of Kochi in India. Researchers from the Fraunhofer institutes IBP, IGB, ISE and IAO are testing concrete technologies for adapting to climate change in schools.

Recycling inorganic composite materials like concrete has so far only been possible to a limited extent. Researchers at Fraunhofer IBP are conducting research on electrodynamic fragmentation (EDF) with a view to recycling inorganic composite materials.

Mobile indoor air purifiers remove infectious aerosols from the air or deactivate the pathogens contained within. Researchers at Fraunhofer IBP were commissioned by industrial partners to find out how well the device actually works in a classroom under real teaching conditions.

These days, face masks are a constant everyday companion. An interdisciplinary team from the Department of Acoustics has studied the effects of masks on our ability to comprehend speech and, thus, on the quality of communication.

The risk of contracting the coronavirus indoors or in a bus, train, car, or plane is much higher than outdoors. Fraunhofer IBP's Departement of Energy Efficiency and Indoor Climate is finding ways to reduce the risk of infection by the coronavirus in these areas.

WiTra is a knowledge transfer platform that provides the latest research findings for applying sustainability in practice: application-oriented, interactive, and future-oriented for sustainable products and technologies.

Finding the answers to issues relating to the heat and moisture balance of building components and buildings by simulation - this is made possible by products from the WUFI® family, which have been developed over the last 25 years in the Department of Hygrothermics.

Every year, around 60 million tons of building waste is produced in Germany - this corresponds to over 700 kilos of concrete and masonry rubble per capita. To recycle these huge quantities of mineral residue, Fraunhofer IBP is constantly developing new recycling technologies.

Reliably eliminating viruses from the room air - that sounds like a good idea, especially in times of the coronavirus. In the "Fraunhofer vs. Corona" program, Fraunhofer IBP has established practical methods to demonstrate the efficiency of air purification technologies.