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At LIGNA 2025, researchers from the Fraunhofer WKI will be demonstrating that bio-based flame-retardant coatings can provide durable fire protection for wooden furniture. A honeycomb-shaped shelf unit with the novel flame-retardant coating, as well as other exhibits, can be seen at LIGNA 2025, Hall 26, Stand B78 from the 26^th to the 30^th of May 2025 in Hanover.

The Fraunhofer WKI is developing innovative solutions for increasing recyclability in the wind-energy sector. By taking the recyclability of rotor blades into account during their construction process, the researchers are ensuring sustainability in the material cycle. Through their expertise in the bonding of wood and hybrid components, researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI have furthermore enabled the construction of what is currently the tallest wooden tower for commercial wind turbines. The Fraunhofer WKI will be showcasing its expertise at LIGNA 2025, Hall 26, Stand B78, with an exhibit featuring the wooden wind-turbine tower, a rotor blade, and recycled products made from rotor blades.

In collaboration with project partners, the Fraunhofer WKI will be presenting heatable, recyclable and optionally illuminable lightweight-construction materials on the joint stand “Schaufenster Bioökonomie” (Bioeconomy Showcase) hosted by Project Management Jülich (PtJ) and the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V. (FNR). On the joint stand, research results will be presented from current bioeconomy projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). In the future, this innovative material could be utilized not only in vehicles but also in tiny houses, for example.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI have developed a bio-based, three-dimensional sandwich structure specifically for lightweight-construction applications in the mobility sector, which is suitable for incorporation into the shell of a caravan. The scientists increased the proportion of renewable raw materials and, at the same time, avoided the utilization of dissimilar materials in order to improve recyclability within the closed loop. The sandwich component can be seen on the Fraunhofer joint stand at the Hannover Messe from 31st March to 4th April 2025.

At BAU 2025 in Munich, researchers from the Fraunhofer WKI will be presenting a building construction made from high-quality pine wood components, a wooden beam comprised of reclaimed waste wood, and with insulation materials made from renewable raw materials as well as insulation materials featuring fungal mycelium as an innovative binding agent. With this model, the researchers are demonstrating resource-conserving innovations for building using recycled materials such as waste wood or hemp hurds.

Building with wood provides an important contribution towards climate protection. By combining wood and concrete, the Fraunhofer WKI is significantly expanding the range of applications for timber constructions. By means of a novel bonding technology, an accelerated production of wood-concrete composite elements (WCC elements) has been made possible. The aim is to establish construction with WCC elements in multi-story buildings as a competitive alternative to pure precast reinforced concrete components.

At BAU 2025 in Munich, researchers from the Fraunhofer WKI will be presenting a project in which innovative aerogels are being developed from waste wood. These sustainable materials are being utilized by the researchers to develop, amongst other things, pollutant-adsorbing air filters and recyclable insulation materials.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI are developing bio-based adhesives on the basis of renewable raw materials and biogenic residues. Adhesives, with their versatile range of application possibilities, are a key technology in the joining of materials and, consequently, the conservation of finite resources. As a result of their broad spectrum of applications, adhesives are a growth market. The substitution of conventional adhesives with bio-based adhesives provides an important contribution towards the realization of a bio-based circular economy.

In collaboration with industrial partners, scientists at the Fraunhofer WKI have developed concepts for the material utilization of humins. Humins are dark, highly viscous compounds. They accrue as a by-product during the production of polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a new bio-based substitute for the bulk plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET). As a result of their complex chemical structure, humins are suitable for a wide range of applications, for example as binders. According to calculations, tens of thousands of tons of humins will accrue every year in the medium to long term, for which no applications currently exist.

Change in leadership of the Fraunhofer WKI: On the 1st of October 2024, Prof. Dr. Raoul Klingner assumed the acting director position of the institute. He holds a degree in Wood Science and Technology and an honorary professorship at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technische Universität Braunschweig. He will complement the successful institute with his expertise and experience in strategic research management.

On 9^th October 2024, the European Wood-based Panel Symposium in Hamburg began with an evening event. The Fraunhofer WKI and the European Panel Federation (EPF) are organizing the networking event for the 13^th time in cooperation with the International Association for Technical Issues Related to Wood (iVTH). The worldwide largest event of this kind offers the around 370 participants from Germany and abroad the possibility, from 9^th to 11^th October 2024, to exchange ideas regarding the most important trends and challenges in the wood-based materials industry.

Autumn is here and with the strengthening winds, the yields generated by wind energy are also increasing. This environmentally-friendly and renewable form of energy generation creates jobs in Germany and promotes technological innovation. Wind energy reduces the dependence on fossil fuels and global supply chains. Researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI are developing solutions that facilitate the inspection of rotor blades. Completely new recycling processes – which are being developed at the Fraunhofer WKI – pursue the goal of achieving the best-possible material recycling. The work of the scientists contributes towards ensuring that, from the outset, wind turbines can be designed to be easier to recycle and can be manufactured from renewable raw materials. As a result, the key technology of the energy transition is becoming both more recyclable and more resource-efficient.

The architecture and chemistry of the bark of the Canary pine effectively protect the trees from forest fires. Taking nature as a model, researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI, in collaboration with partners, have developed bio-based coatings for wooden components for interior and exterior use. The fire-retardant coatings utilizing functionalized microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) are weather-resistant and expand the application possibilities for wood in building construction. The researchers have succeeded in developing a new approach in the production of durable, flame-retardant construction products based on renewable raw materials.

Within the framework of his summer tour, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture, Falko Mohrs, visited the Fraunhofer institutes for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI and for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST in Braunschweig on the 8^th of July 2024.

From the 9^th to the 11^th of October 2024, the Fraunhofer WKI and the European Panel Federation (EPF) in cooperation with the International Association for Technical Issues Related to Wood (iVTH) and the company Hywax GmbH will be hosting the 13th European Wood-based Panel Symposium at the Grand Elysée Hotel in Hamburg. The presentation program has now been finalized.

How can finite resources be conserved and dependency on fossil resources reduced? Renewable raw materials are one answer. Researchers at the Fraunhofer WKI are developing new materials and components made from such materials as wood, flax and hemp fibers and fungal mycelium. Together with the Verband Dämmstoffe aus nachwachsenden Rohstoffen e.V. (association for insulation materials made from renewable raw resources, vdnr), the Fraunhofer WKI has been selected to present its expertise in the field of insulation materials at the “Woche der Umwelt” (Week of the Environment) in Berlin on the 4^th and 5^th of June 2024. The expertise ranges from raw-material extraction, through insulation production and its application in the construction industry, and on to recycling and the utilization of recycled raw materials for second-use products. Scientists will be presenting insulation materials made from plant-based raw resources for applications in the construction sector.