Research Projects

Goal in this research cluster "H2GO" is to develop a high rate scale production for fuel cell components. Especially with regards to establish hydrogen technologies as an alternative to battery electric vehicles. Another important point is that with regards to sustainability and circular economy the topics recycling and demounting are regarded from the beginning, to regain important materials and to reuse components after a refurbishment.

The primary objective of the EU project RECREATE is the development of innovative technologies for promoting the profitable re-utilization of end-of-life composite components for industrial applications. It is divided into different technological use cases and addresses a multitude of different target sectors such as wind energy or the automotive industry.

The increasing environmental awareness of the population requires a constant reduction of CO₂ over the entire value chain and over the entire product life cycle in order to achieve future climate targets. Innovative lightweight materials, material combinations, manufacturing technologies and integrated functions can make a significant contribution to achieving these goals.

The focus of the research campus project "Process and tool technologies for functionally integrated hybrid designs (TechnoHyb)" is the development and application of process and tool technologies for functionally integrated hybrid components in a large-scale vehicle production.

In the research campus project “Life Cycle Technologies for hybrid structures” (LCT) the optimization of the whole application potential of hybrid structures in vehicles is planned by examining model-based illustrations of the whole life cycle.

Functional integration and lightweight design are important tasks especially for modern electric vehicles. Development of multi-functional assemblies for the battery box of the future is one of the challenges in the electric mobility.

To increase the range of electric vehicles and to protect the battery system from thermal overload, a passive thermal management is to be developed. This is achieved by combining metal foam with phase change material, a compound with application-specific adjustable thermal and mechanical properties. 

The target of "futureFlexPro" is the development of modularizable solutions for sustainable, fuctional components of future vehicle generations, considering a holistic circular economy as well as a consistent economic, ecological and technological evaluation in the context of market and sales scenarios.

The "FiberEUse" project aimed at integrating different innovation actions through a holistic approach to enhance profitability of composite recycling and reuse in value-added products.

In the project "Low-pressure casting of components for electric machines" the CASTCoil technology developed by Fraunhofer IFAM is to be further developed for near-series production in low-pressure casting. The CASTCoil technology involves cast tooth coils for use in electric motors.

The use of large and heavy batteries in electrically powered vehicles means that special importance is attached to lightweight construction. Cast components offer many advantages for vehicle structure and chassis.

In the project "Oberhalb" fibres and semi-finished fibre products are treated by means of atmospheric pressure plasma sources for a cost-efficient and need-based improvement of their wettability and infiltration. 

The further development of the calendering process forms the solution for the continuous and large-scale impregnation of textile structures, as well as the consolidation of pre-impregnated semi-finished fiber matrix products for the production of thermoplastic semi-finished products.

In this project, we are developing new forms of bio-hybrid-fiber-reinforced composites (bio-HFC) with the highest possible proportion of bio-based components, i.e. reinforcing fibers and/or plastic matrices. 

The objective of this project is the development of suitable respective recycling and disposal concepts for the materials and material combinations produced within the scope of the Fraunhofer Project Center in Wolfsburg, whilst simultaneously already taking the recycling aspect into account during the selection of the materials and the manufacturing processes.

In the "EnTraHyb" project, a load-bearing, crash-relevant metal-FRP assembly for passenger cars is being developed in cooperation between the Fraunhofer Project Center Wolfsburg and the Technical University of Braunschweig.

The approach for the function integrated electric vehicle component is a multi-material mix through the combination of fiber reinforced composites, aluminium foam and aluminium. The focus here is on the integration of the mechanical functions of the thermal management as well as crash and intrusion protection.

In order to bring about a turnaround in automotive production, scientific efforts must be made towards sustainable processes and products. One key to solving the challenges lies in a holistic process chain of textile-reinforced plastic/metal composites.

The project "ProFest" encloses a further material development of the wood foam developed by Fraunhofer WKI for new applications. The aim is the development of an elastic wood foam for the application in the field of upholstery.

The "KomuPlex" project deals with the production of hybrid components made of metal and fiber-reinforced plastic composite (FRP) by forming and injection molding in one tool.