Industrial Laser Solutions

Fraunhofer launches cluster for resource efficiency in energy and mobility

March 8, 2013

The cluster will implement new turbo-machinery concepts and component designs for assessing efficiency along the entire product life cycle.

Aachen, Germany - For the medium and long term, power generation will still be mainly dependent on fossil fuels, since renewable energy can only cover a percentage of today’s electricity demand. Thus, it is essential for the automotive, aerospace, and energy sectors to develop new emerging concepts that are capable of significant decreases in emissions and fuel consumption.

In that spirit, The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, a research organization in Europe that maintains 66 institutes and research units, recently announced its new cluster of innovation, AdaM or adaptive production for resource efficiency in energy and mobility.

The Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Technology IPT and for Laser Technology ILT together with 21 partners from industry will be seeking new technologies and concepts to improve the resource efficiency in the fields of power generation and mobility.

The aim is to implement new turbo-machinery concepts and component designs that enable measurable reductions in CO2 emissions and increases in the efficiency of energy conversion. This will be the first time that resource efficiency is assessed along the entire product life cycle — from manufacture via operation to maintenance, repair, and overhaul.

The cluster will receive a total fund of 10 million euros over three years; of this, 2.5 million euros each are coming from North Rhine-Westphalia and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, with the remainder being contributed by the industrial partners. AdaM brings together manufacturers of power plant technology and members of the aerospace community, along with suppliers of goods, services, and technology from North Rhine-Westphalia and nationwide.

AdaM is one out of 20 Fraunhofer clusters of innovation that are currently being conducted across Germany. Partners of the AdaM cluster of innovation include: