2025

In the "WindKI" research project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES and the AI company LATODA are developing a new method that detects performance losses in wind turbines at an early stage. The aim of the multi-year project is to implement an AI-supported diagnostic system that will enable objective and data-driven performance optimization of the turbines. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

The expansion of renewable energies (RE) is progressing worldwide, but in many places there is a lack of reliable data and suitable modelling tools. This shortage also hinders the utilization of enormous RE potential in African countries. As part of the OASES research project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE and its partners have therefore established an open AU-EU ecosystem for energy system modelling. Alongside a tool for the automated detection of RE plants in satellite imagery, high-resolution RE time series were generated and can be seamlessly integrated into the enhanced and user-friendly IRENA FlexTool.

The Common European Agricultural Data Space (CEADS), an initiative to create a common European agricultural data space, was launched on April 1, 2025. The 36 project partners from 15 countries came together for a three-day kick-off event in Ghent (Belgium) at the beginning of May. The project, which is funded by the European Commission through the “Digital Europe” program, is coordinated by the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO). Over the next three years, the partners will work on enabling the secure, sovereign and trustworthy use of data across the entire agricultural and food value chain, including public administration. With the start of the project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE is also taking on a central role as a technology partner.

Chip design is a crucial step in the development of application-specific microelectronic components and must take functionality, reliability and security aspects into account. Novel reconfigurable field effect transistors (RFETs) enable significantly better protection against hardware attacks and are the focus of the "DI-ReDesign" project. The project partners, including the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS in Halle (Saale), want to provide open access design libraries using RFETs to support customers in developing powerful and secure electronic products.

The sustainable production of chemical base materials using CO2 as a carbon source is the goal of the "PKat4Chem" project. The project partners involved aim at further developing the process of low-temperature plasma catalysis so that gases produced from biomass can be converted into methanol or ethylene in a single-stage process. The Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS is contributing its expertise in analyzing the materials used. The approach promises high efficiency and flexibility.

A new study by Fraunhofer ISI recently published in Nature Energy explores how domestic battery production in Europe can be expanded and how the European continent can become more independent from other parts of the world. The study derives policy recommendations from modelled scenarios how to strengthen the European battery industry.

Laser-driven fusion power plants are considered a key technology on the road to climate neutrality. Highly reflective and thermally stable mirror systems are crucial for these fusion power plants in order to transport the laser light from the beam source to the tiny capsule of fusion fuel. In the new SHARP research project, new types of high-performance mirrors are being developed for this purpose. The project is being funded with 8.4 million euros by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Silicon carbide (SiC) provides considerable technical advantages for power electronics - however, the costs are still a drawback. In the »ThinSiCPower« research project, a consortium of Fraunhofer Institutes is developing key technologies to reduce material losses and device thickness while increasing the thermomechanical stability of the assembled SiC chips. The savings achieved are expected to help further accelerate the market development of efficient SiC power electronics.

Quality assurance is a key enabler for modern microelectronics which is only possible if powerful techniques for screening, fault isolation and failure diagnostics are available. Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) can strongly support these tasks, however versatile applicable data infrastructures and evaluation algorithms are still not readily available. In the "FA2IR" project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS in Halle (Saale) is working with partners on solutions to develop and incorporate sophisticated digital tools for paving the digital path for fault analysis. Automated, AI-supported analysis is intended to minimize result-subjectivity, shorten development times and to improve product quality.

Inverters in photovoltaic systems and wind turbines are indispensable technological components of the energy transition. However, due to the combination of climatic, thermal and electrical loads, they are among the most frequently failing system components. In the recently completed project "Reliable converters for renewable energy supply (power4re)", five institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, including the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS, have developed significantly improved solutions. They have gained new insights into weak points, damage patterns, influencing factors and failure mechanisms and developed improved test methods to increase robustness and reliability.