Press Releases

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German research foundation) is supporting a transregional Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) of the Technische Universität Braunschweig and the Technical University of Munich. Dr. Frauke Bunzel from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI and Dr. Klaudius Henke from the Technical University of Munich will jointly lead the sub-project “Structural timber by individual layer fabrication (ILF)”.

Climate change is threatening the domestic coniferous forests. Coniferous wood is necessary for, amongst other things, the production of medium-density and high-density wood fiberboard (MDF and HDF). Researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI have now discovered how low-value hardwood species can be used supplementarily to softwood in the manufacture of these wood-based materials. For the wood-processing industry, this opens up new possibilities for compensating for supply shortages in coniferous wood.

At K 2019, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI, will be presenting vegetable crates comprised of up to 25 percent wood fibers. Transport and storage containers made from polypropylene are used millions of times every day in industry and in the wholesale and retail trades. The researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI have worked out how to make the containers more sustainable, lighter and sturdier – whilst keeping production costs at the same level. In the future, the researchers intend to transfer their expertise in materials research and injection-molding technology to other products.

On August 28, 2019, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI celebrated the topping-out ceremony for the “Center for Light and Environmentally-Friendly Structures ZELUBA^®“ together with the contractors. The new Fraunhofer WKI building with a total usable area of around 1,700 square meters is being built on the site of the Technical University of Braunschweig on Beethovenstrasse, in the immediate vicinity of the university's building institutes. With the ZELUBA^® new building, Fraunhofer WKI is expanding its capacities for the development of sustainable lightweight construction solutions for buildings. The background is global challenges such as climate change, population growth and large transnational migration flows, which place new demands on the functionality and environmental balance of buildings. The location has been intentionally chosen: The collaboration between researchers at Fraunhofer WKI and TU Braunschweig is to become closer not only in terms of space, but also in terms of content.

Wooden buildings withstand climate change and help bind CO2. This is the result of a study carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI together with the Holzbau Deutschland-Institut. Based on current climate forecasts, no physical damage to timber buildings is to be expected today or in the next 100 years. For future construction planning, the researchers have also developed recommendations for protection against heat, wood pests and extreme weather events such as storms and heavy rain.

In a joint project with the Technische Universität Braunschweig, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI have developed an innovative building element for the construction industry: a sandwich element with a wood-foam core and a thin cover layer of textile-reinforced concrete. It can be used, for example, as a lightweight curtain-wall element or in interior fittings. The high-performance wood foam requires no artificial binding agents and can be produced from regionally available wood residues. Through the utilization of wood foam instead of conventional foam based on petrochemicals, the proportion of particularly sustainable construction materials in buildings can be increased.

As a result of the new combination possibilities for bio-based hybrid-fiber materials achieved at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI, the industrial application possibilities for renewable raw materials, for example in the automotive industry or for everyday objects such as helmets or skis, can be expanded. By increasing the proportion of flax fiber in hybrid-fiber materials to up to 50 percent, the scientists have demonstrated that it is possible to significantly increase the biogenic proportion in composite materials. The special aspect of the tested methods: The fabrics can be individually composed with the help of a weaving machine. In this way, process steps in industrial production, in which materials first have to be merged together, can be omitted. This will achieve reductions in energy and CO2 throughout the entire production process.

At LIGNA 2019, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI and designers from the Institut für Design-forschung (Institute for Design Research, IDF) at the Braunschweig University of Art will be presenting the results of their cooperation project. At LIGNA, examples of rational production from the boatbuilding and bicycle industries can be seen. With its particularly lightweight materials on the basis of renewable raw materials, the Fraunhofer WKI is addressing the mobility sector.

At LIGNA 2019, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI, will be presenting new methods for reutilizing materials from the wind-power industry. Researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI are developing innovative recycling techniques for the recovery of balsa wood and plastic foam from wind-power rotor blades. The recovered materials are then used to produce new, improved insulation and building materials.

At LIGNA 2019, the researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI will be demonstrating possibilities for introducing the renewable raw material wood into structural application within the mobility sector. Wood-based (multi-material) lightweight components enable cost savings and a unique environmental balance through the utilization of a natural material.