Cooperation with Fraunhofer
Within the framework of the Pact for Research and Innovation, the Max Planck Society and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft intend to continue and intensify their cooperation across research areas and disciplines. With its focus centred on application, the collaboration with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is of particular interest to the Max Planck Society. Against this background, the two organizations have been engaged in talks since spring 2004 in order to identify and support collaboration opportunities at the interface of application oriented research and basic research. This includes meanwhile the fields of computer science, materials science / nanotechnology and biotechnology, as well as the area of regenerative energies and photonics. The aim of such a venture is to bring to application the knowledge resulting from collaborative efforts, thereby making a direct contribution to the development of new technologies.
COMPASS- Combined Printing, Imaging and Pharmacological Screening of Cultured Bone Marrow Hemospheres
The main aim of this project is to gain a better understanding of the function of bone marrow in relation to the production of haematopoietic stem cells. Secondly, it is planned to develop a robust biological testing system, which can be used to define the environment of the stem cells. On the completion of the project, an in-vitro assay should be available that is of considerable interest to the pharmaceutical sector. In terms of an application example, our interest is focused on leukemia as the stem cells and their precursors are very well established in bone-marrow transplants.
Participating institutes:
Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology
Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine
Duration: 2011 - 2014
Dendro Refining: A new approach to the material and energy use of lignin
MEP Pathways as a platform for isoprenoid formation
Heterogeneous catalysis – the production of base chemicals and fuels from renewable resources using the example of dimethyl ether
Catalysis plays a key role in the manufacture of chemical products. Catalytic processes will become even more important given the rising price and shortage of oil which is to be expected. One way to achieve society’s aim of reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuels is to convert biomass into so-called synthesis gas, which can then be converted into a number of different chemical base materials with the aid of catalytic processes. The concrete objective of this research project is the development of a new, continuous catalytic process which produces the very versatile product dimethyl ether (DME) from synthesis gas originally generated from biomass. DME can be used as fuel or as the base chemical in synthesis routes which have previously been based on oil. The catalytic process will allow single-stage direct synthesis and be able to be coupled to biomass gasification.
Participating institutes:
Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology
MPI für Kohlenforschung (coal research)
Duration: 2011 - 2014
Kryo-mHEMT – Process optimisation for extremely low intrinsic noise at cryogenic temperatures
The objective of this tandem project is to establish a European source for ultra-low-noise amplifier circuits for radio astronomy and space research. Max Planck researchers are providing the necessary competence in the field of cryogenic amplifiers, the Fraunhofer partner is contributing extensive experience in semiconductor technology for the manufacture of circuits with excellent noise characteristics at room temperature. They aim to improve and optimise the existing transistor-based switching technology with extremely high electron mobility for low temperature applications.
Participating institutes:
Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
Duration: 2010 - 2013
SAISBECO - Software for individual recognition
The identification of individuals is essential for both animal conservation and in ethology. At present, evaluating the data for different species which are generated by camera traps and/or with the aid of acoustic recordings is a slow, difficult process where a lot of the work has to be done manually. This project aims to develop new software methods to recognise individuals of different species. The knowledge at Fraunhofer will be used to develop a system for object and facial recognition, for classification, and a semi-automatic system which can recognise individuals with the aid of audio-visual data. These possibilities are intended to significantly improve ethology, the determination of biodiversity and Population Monitoring. Initial work with audio-visual data has already been done. Camera traps are already being sold in large numbers by manufacturers across the globe.
Participating institutes:
Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Duration: 2010 - 2013
BIOSOL - Molecular analysis and sustainable use of the biodiversity of Solanum tuberosum
The focus of this project is the potato, that is the sustainable use of the existing or potential biodiversity of Solanum tuberosum. The aim is to optimise the valuable organ of the potato tuber for human use and to identify tuber proteins that would lend themselves to a variety of biotechnological and medical uses. A particular aim here is to diminish the reducing sugar content and consequently prevent the formation of bitter and unhealthy substances following cold storage and during the processing of potato tubers. The decomposition of the strength of the reducing sugars can be influenced at several points in the metabolic pathway. Another aim of BIOSOL is to analyse the structural and functional biodiversity of enzyme inhibitors from potato tubers as a function of the suitability or non-suitability of certain potato varieties for crisp/potato chip production and to identify gene variants that positively influence suitability for crisps/potato chips. Moreover, it is intended to examine whether the biodiversity of the enzyme inhibitors could assume a function as natural plant antibodies (‘innate plantibodies’) and whether certain inhibitor variants could be used in biotechnical processes or in medical applications. Because these proteins can be obtained from potatoes as a by-product of starch isolation, the process route to starch extraction could be significantly enhanced in economic terms.
Participating institutes:
Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Duration: 2008 - 2011
