Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT

To create a sustainable road traffic system, hundreds of thousands of fuel cells will be needed for hydrogen-powered cars in the future. Until now, though, fuel cell production has been complex and too slow. The Fraunhofer team is therefore developing a continuous production line that will be able to process fuel cell components in cycles lasting just seconds. The pilot line is set to be presented at the Hannover Messe Digital Edition from April 12 to April 16, 2021.

Industrial production today is only about one thing: productivity. Until now, the values behind this term have prevented a zero-emission and sustainable production, even though it would already be technologically and economically possible. However, changing requirements of the capital market from a plain financial orientation to a holistic view of sustainability, demand that German companies rethink the concept of productivity. The Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT will discuss the question of how the Internet of Production (IoP) can support this process and at the same time make companies crisis-proof during the 30th Aachen Machine Tool Colloquium (AWK) on September 22 and 23, 2021, at Eurogress Aachen and in digital form.

Being able to reliably and safely control and regulate highly dynamic production systems still appears to be a challenge for many companies. Edge and cloud systems are gaining in importance, but even today there is still a lack of appropriate equipment and infrastructure to permanently integrate existing machines and plants into digital IT landscapes in accordance with the necessary industrial requirements. To this end, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen, together with partners from mechanical engineering, network technology and robotics, is now developing an end-to-end real-time-capable communication infrastructure based on 5G mobile technology and the Time Sensitive Networking (TSN).

The treatment of cancer with new, individualized cell therapies is usually very costly and lengthy. Before treatment can take place, patients often have to wait a long time for individualized therapeutics to be produced and they lose valuable time. In the EU project AIDPATH, researchers are now developing a facility for the production of so-called CAR-T cells that is capable of integrating patient-related data and biomarkers into the therapy process via artificial intelligence. The CAR-T cells are produced close to the patient, directly in the hospital. In the future, this will make it possible to provide cancer patients with treatment tailored to their needs and much more quickly.