Press Releases

How resilient is our food supply? Temporarily empty shelves during the Corona crisis showed that the answer to this question is more urgent than ever. Guaranteeing people a supply of food that is both safe in terms of health and of high quality is an essential system-relevant tasks that is affected by complex factors and that needs to be rethought in many respects in view of several weaknesses in the system. Researchers from six Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institutes have set themselves this goal and joined together to form the »Resilient system architecture to safeguard food production« (ReSearchL) initiative. As part of the project, they identify risks and weaknesses in the value chain and develop solution scenarios in order to make manufacturing stronger and ultimately more resilient in the future.

In keeping with the theme of this year's PARTS2CLEAN, “Quality needs perfection”, the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Stuttgart presents a solution for the complex challenges of “Cleaning 4.0”. From October 5–7, 2021 at Hall 4, Stand B22, the Institute will present an innovative model system for the digitized analysis of industrial component cleaning processes.

CIRCULAR FoodPack aims to facilitate the circular use of plastic packaging addressing the most sensitive product category: Food. The CIRCULAR FoodPack project started in June 2021 and will run until November 2024 with about 5.4 million Euros of EU funding from Horizon 2020 the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The project will be implemented by fourteen companies and research institutes from six European countries and is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Freising.

A sustainable society with climate-neutral processes requires significant adjustments in the value chains, which are only possible through innovations. Seven Fraunhofer Institutes are pooling their expertise in the lighthouse project "Waste4Future" to develop new solutions for this goal, from the raw material base to material flows and process engineering right to the end of a product's life cycle. In particular, they want to increase energy and resource efficiency in the use of plastics and thus pave the way for a chemical industry that requires fewer fossil raw materials and produces fewer emissions.

Research News / May 03, 2021 The amount of plastic waste increases every year. Some of this waste is due to plastic packaging used to protect food. As part of the “BioActiveMaterials” project, researchers at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have developed an eco-friendly coating for paper packaging. With this, not only is plastic saved, but the coating of plant-based proteins and waxes also extends the shelf life of the food. After use, the packaging can be placed in the waste paper recycling bin for disposal.

The lighthouse project »FutureProteins« combines the production of alternative protein sources in closed agricultural systems with an integrated use of all by-products to create further protein raw materials.

In the EVOBIO project, 19 Fraunhofer Institutes have combined their expertise and over a period of five months have developed concepts and modules for a new way of doing business. This is now demonstrated through the use of selected examples.

On April 1st the - FlexFunction2Sustain - Open Innovation Test Bed was launched to boost innovations for sustainable plastic and paper products to reach the market faster. The project, financed by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, will support the Plastics and Paper Processing Industry in overcoming environmental challenges while entering the digital age.

As of 1 April 2020, Prof. Andrea Büttner is the new Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Freising.

Plastic recyclates produced from waste packaging have to meet high sensory requirements in order to be used for new products. Plastic recyclates often have off-odors, some of which have not hitherto been identified. The Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV has analyzed the sensory properties of post-consumer shopping bags made of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and originating from different collection systems.