Reference projects | project start: 2014

Within the framework of the research alliance “Sustainable Strategies for Recycling Products and Waste Materials from Biobased Plastics”, the Fraunhofer WKI and IVV are pursuing the adaptation of a solvent-based PLA recycling process with the aim of obtaining high-quality PLA recyclates from heterogeneous PLA-containing post-consumer waste.

In cooperation with two further Fraunhofer Institutes and three institutes from the Technische Universität Braunschweig, we are developing a functionally integrated battery container at the Fraunhofer Project Center in Wolfsburg. This functions as a technology carrier and employs a multi-material construction method for which fiber-reinforced materials are combined with aluminum and highly porous structures made from aluminum. In order to bring these demanding materials together, the production chain and the associated joining processes need to be further developed and adapted to the materials.

In collaboration with two further Fraunhofer Institutes as well as three institutes from the Technische Universität Braunschweig, we are developing a load-bearing, crash-relevant metal/fiber-reinforced plastic assembly for application in automobiles. Within the scope of this project, the intelligent combination of different materials and production processes also enables us to demonstrate the lightweight construction potential for crash-relevant components. The overall objective of the project is the development of a generic interface component for the load-compliant joining of fiber-reinforced plastics and metals on the basis of a cast node.

In collaboration with two further Fraunhofer Institutes as well as three institutes from the Technical University of Braunschweig, we are working on the development of a new technology with which plastic can be applied to ready-made textiles in a variety of ways, as well as the constructive implementation of this technology and its integration into the process of calender impregnation. The objective is the production of process-adapted, endless-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics with load-path-appropriate architecture, which flow directly into the production of hybrid structural components for the automotive sector.

Prefabricated concrete products exhibit a very high mass with simultaneous high thermal conductivity; optimization of both properties would therefore seem reasonable. In order to realize an improvement in these properties, this project aims to replace the mineral components with wood constituents.

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 Centre in Wolfsburg, whilst simultaneously already taking the recycling aspect into account during the selection of the materials and the manufacturing processes.

There have recently been many enquiries as to whether wood-plastic composites (WPC) can be equipped with a flame retardant. Many construction applications are already subject to legal restrictions pertaining to fire safety. Common flame retardants are detrimental to WPC’s mechanical properties and have to be applied in large quantities to be effective. The aim of this project is to develop new kinds of flame retardants which perform better.

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 project planning as well as the feasibility study of innovative process chains for the manufacture of these composite materials in large-scale production also form a focus of this project.

Pressed wood panels are composed of chopped or cut wood that is glued together using adhesives. Most of these resins are petroleum based products containing a hazardous chemical: formaldehyde. The acceptable levels of formaldehyde in wood pressed products have been reduced over the past decades due to increased public awareness on its effects on health and the consequent consumer demand for non-hazardous products. We are developing a formaldehyde-free thermo-setting bio-based resin (pre-polymer) for wood-based panels.