Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology
| Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology |
|
|---|---|
| Category: | research Institute |
| Carrier: | Fraunhofer Society |
| Legal form of the carrier: | Registered association |
| Seat of the wearer: | Munich |
| Facility location: | Pfinztal |
| Type of research: | Applied research |
| Subjects: | Engineering |
| Areas of expertise: | Applied electrochemistry, energetic materials, energetic systems, polymer engineering, environmental engineering, new drive systems, chemical-biotechnological processes, function-integrated lightweight construction, sustainable mobility |
| Basic funding: | Federal government (90%), states (10%) |
| Management: | Peter Elsner |
| Employee: | about 550 |
| Homepage: | www.ict.fraunhofer.de |
The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT), also known as “Fraunhofer ICT” for short, is an institution of the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research eV The institute is based in Pfinztal in the Berghausen district , its activities are applied Research and development in the field of engineering in the field of defense technology and environmental technology.
history
The Fraunhofer ICT emerged from the “Laboratory for Solid Rocket Propellants ”, which was located at what was then the Technical University of Karlsruhe in the 1950s and was headed by Karl Mayer, a recognized explosives specialist. Research was carried out in this laboratory for the newly formed Ministry of Defense in 1955 .
In 1959 the “Institute for the Chemistry of Fuels” of the Fraunhofer Society was founded. With 20 employees, the Fraunhofer ICT initially financed itself through project research by the Ministry of Defense in the field of solid rocket propellants . The institute later expanded its research areas to include explosives and gun propellants. In 1962 the institute was renamed “Institute for Propellants and Explosives” and in 1988 it was given the current name “Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology”, after the institute opened up to civil contract research from its initially purely military orientation.
State-of-the-art laboratory and technology halls were built for the civil and defense-related research sector in order to be able to meet the requirements in terms of core competencies.
In February 2009, the function-integrated lightweight construction project group (FIL) established a branch in Augsburg . From the beginning of 2015 to mid-2016, the project group was part of the ICT. In Augsburg Innovation Park , a new building, which was inaugurated in May 2013 was established. On July 1, 2016, the FIL project group of the Fraunhofer ICT and the Resource-Efficient Mechatronic Processing Machines (RMV) project group of the Fraunhofer IWU, which is also based in Augsburg, together with the foundry work group of the utg of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) as the Fraunhofer facility for foundry, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV in Augsburg and Garching.
research
Fraunhofer ICT calls itself a “dual institute” with research work in both civil and defense- related areas .
The tasks of the institute are divided into the core areas
- Defense, security, aerospace
There is no open research market for this area. Due to the issue, the client is the Federal Ministry of Defense . It is true that increasing Europeanization can also be assumed in the defense sector in the next few years, but the main research tasks with regard to armament and equipment will initially remain in national hands. In the field of explosives technology , the institute covers the entire area from raw materials to prototypes. These include new explosives, rocket propellants, gun propellants, explosives , gas generators and pyrotechnic kits. - Automobile and traffic
A dominant topic here is currently lightweight vehicle construction. New materials such as fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites are increasingly gaining market shares in the field of load-bearing and partially load-bearing structures. They are characterized by a high performance potential and offer good opportunities for material recycling. The institute conducts intensive research in the field of fiber composite materials and polymer foam technology in the polymer engineering department - Chemistry and Pharmacy
Right from the start, the Fraunhofer ICT has carried out extensive research in the fields of synthesis and process engineering . For this purpose, the institute has a broad and well-founded know-how in the fields of chemical synthesis and reaction technology , thermal and mechanical process engineering, high-pressure technology , process simulation , electrochemistry and polymer technology. - Energy and Environment
In the field of environment, the Fraunhofer ICT develops concepts and processes in the fields of environmental process engineering, recycling management, process simulation, measurement and sensor technology, and analytics.
In particular, the buffering of strongly fluctuating wind energy of a 2 MW wind turbine with a 20 MWh redox flow battery has been researched in an application center in Pfinztal since the end of September 2018 . The aim is to achieve a continuous power supply for electricity consumers during the main demand times.
In these core areas, interdisciplinary and topic-related research and development is carried out for certain industries and products. Interdisciplinary here means that engineers, chemists and physicists, technicians and laboratory assistants from different product areas work together on a topic. The department structure of the institute is structured according to so-called core competencies:
- Energetic materials
This concerns the development and characterization of explosives and systems containing explosives. The research and development tasks range from the chemical synthesis and processing of energy-rich preliminary products through the associated process development and manufacturing technology to the manufacture of raw products, small series and demonstrators for military and civil applications. - Energetic systems In
addition to the investigation of gun propellants, rocket propellants and explosives, the research focuses on the development of situation-related protection systems, in particular on the basis of gas generators, to the investigation and assessment of safety risks and accident scenarios in the industrial and public sectors. - Polymer engineering
Projects for the development of plastic components are processed. The project content comes from all areas of plastics applications, automotive engineering and transport, the consumer goods industry, aerospace, chemistry and pharmacy, packaging, medical technology and construction. - Environmental engineering
In order to make an ecologically and economically attractive contribution to sustainable development, environmentally friendly synthesis, production and recycling processes are developed. Another focus is the environmental qualification of technical products. - Applied electrochemistry
This area is a cross-sectional technology, the range of its applications extends through almost all branches of industry. Batteries, fuel cells, electrochemical sensors and electrocatalysis are the thematic focuses.
- Energetic materials
The Fraunhofer ICT is the only explosives research institute in Germany that deals with the entire development area from the laboratory to the technical center to the system.
Cooperations
The Fraunhofer ICT is a member of the “Fraunhofer Group for Defense and Security Research” (VVS). Six Fraunhofer institutes have joined forces in this group in order to coordinate their research activities in the field of "Defense and Security" and to promote cooperation between these institutions and the defense industry.
The Fraunhofer ICT is also a member of the “Fraunhofer Group for Materials and Components” (VWB). This association bundles the competencies of the twelve institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with a focus on materials science.
In the university area, there is a cooperation with the University of Karlsruhe , which covers the basic research needs of the Fraunhofer ICT.
TheoPrax Center at the ICT
Fraunhofer ICT is an active member and one of the founders of the TheoPrax Foundation. This was founded in June 2001 in order to be able to apply, disseminate and use the training model “TheoPrax” more intensively. The purpose of the foundation is to promote science and research as well as education and training. The foundation emerged from a network established in 1996 between schools, universities and companies. In addition to the TheoPrax Center at Fraunhofer ICT, 13 communication centers have now been set up in eleven federal states for regional support.
The teaching and learning method TheoPrax combines theory and practice during studies through projects in which students work on specific assignments from industry and services in a team. The aim is to experience the working world under real conditions while working on a project.
Infrastructure
In mid-2013, 503 people were employed at Fraunhofer ICT.
The operating budget of Fraunhofer ICT in the 2012 financial year was 30.2 million euros.
Peter Elsner has been Head of Fraunhofer ICT since 2006.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fraunhofer ICT: ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Press release from September 8th, 2009 - Saving energy with ease
- ↑ Fraunhofer and DLR open lightweight construction research centers in Augsburg . Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research eV May 14, 2013. Accessed April 11, 2019.
- ↑ Ceremony for the establishment of the Fraunhofer IGCV. Fraunhofer Institute for Foundry, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV, October 12, 2016, accessed on December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Energy in the tank. In: Fraunhofer Society . December 20, 2018, accessed October 12, 2019 .
Web links
- Homepage of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT)
- Homepage of the research network KITe hyLITE (with participation of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology)
Coordinates: 49 ° 0 ′ 58 ″ N , 8 ° 31 ′ 21 ″ E