Latest developments 2021

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft project “LamA — Charging at Work”® led by Fraunhofer IAO, has been coordinating the setup of a Germany-wide charging infrastructure for electric vehicles for a total of 42 Fraunhofer Institutes since July 2018. On April 1, 2021, the project achieved a new milestone with around 240 charging points going into regular operation. The billing for the charging processes is managed by the eMSP (eMobility Service Provider) e-mobility partner chargeIT mobility GmbH. chargeIT mobility also integrates the individual Fraunhofer Institutes as sub-operators in the e-roaming networks.

More Information: Press release (German).

Together with over 20 companies from various industries, Fraunhofer IAO has established a corporate network as part of the SEQUOIA project. The focus is on exchanging ideas and information on current developments in quantum computing and working out concrete use cases for quantum computing in industry.

More Information: Press release (German).

Quantum System One — Europe’s first quantum computer. The system is located in the IBM Germany headquarters in Ehningen. In June this year, it was unveiled by IBM and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. This was watched live by (former) Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel, Fraunhofer President Prof. Reimund Neugebauer and the Minister President of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann. Fraunhofer employees will initially have exclusive use of the facility until the end of 2023. Reimund Neugebauer said that they plan to lease computing services to research institutions and companies of all sizes. Companies will also be able to use their research results.

In June 2021, the research network, which has been in operation for two years, founded the non-profit association Competence Center for Biointelligence e.V. Research institutions from the Stuttgart area want to use this to support the convergence of nature, technology and information science and bring the paradigm of biointelligence into the mainstream

More Information: News (German).

Since September 2021, Fraunhofer IAO has been breaking new ground in research information transfer using video podcasts. The series of nine contributions provides an overview of modern digital services, smart services, and shares ideas and suggestions for business practices.

More Information: News (German).

How can cities and municipal enterprises use urban data in an efficient, transparent and profitable way? At the start of 2021, the “Data Competence Center for Cities and Regions (DKSR)” was founded as a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Morgenstadt Initiative. The DKSR uses an open-source approach to assist municipalities in locating municipal data, retrieving it in a structured manner, and sharing it securely.

More Information: Press release (German).

The Mobile Plug-In Laboratory utilizes interactive application examples to show what a digital, ASE-supported product development and production process can look like, from its conception stage through to the end product. In order to familiarize small and medium-sized enterprises in particular with the opportunities of digitalization, thereby contributing to future-proofing their locations, the laboratory toured the Federal state in the fall of 2021, under the patronage of Baden-Württemberg’s Minister for Economic Affairs.  

More Information: Press release (German).

How can we shape mobility in an eco-friendly way? How are new mobility con-cepts changing our cities? How will we get from A to B in the future? At two Munich sites at the IAA 2021 from September 7 to 12, 2021, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s institutes will be showcasing their expertise and putting forward their concepts and solutions for tomorrow’s mobility. Fraunhofer IAO is involved with the topics of sustainable concepts for the future of mobility and the interior design of autonomous vehicles.

More Information: Press release.

The development of Werksviertel-Mitte has meant that there is now a district in Munich where three Fraunhofer institutes can research and implement new ideas for working, habitation, living and mobility. The cooperation will be launched at the IAA Mobility 2021. In the future podcast, the Fraunhofer experts dive into the topic of mobility from various perspectives.

More Information: Press release (German).

In the traffic-heavy city of Chemnitz, a new pedestrian and bicycle traffic (model) route was opened as part of the research project NUMIC. Chemnitz residents can support mobility research and help shape its progress by testing the route and giving their feedback via an app developed by Fraunhofer IAO.

More Information: Press release (German).

The Automotive Initiative 2025 (AI25) is a joint project launched by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO together with AUDI AG and the Technical University of Munich. Its purpose is to establish a world-leading network of excellence for the digital transformation of automotive manufacturing. This network is to be located in the Heilbronn region in Germany, with the required IT solutions provided by technology partners AWS, SAP, Capgemini and XL2.

More Information: Press release.

With the Coordination and Transfer Point (KTS) for the Smart Cities model projects, the German federal government is supporting municipalities and administrative districts in developing and testing cross-sector digital solutions for urban life of the future until 2030. The Fraunhofer institutes IAO and IESE are contributing their expertise from the Morgenstadt Initiative and the Digital Villages project.

More Information: News.