The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM is one of Europe’s most important independent research institutes in the fields of adhesive bonding technology, surfaces, shaping and functional materials with five locations in Bremen, Dresden, Stade, Wolfsburg and Braunschweig as well as the Test Center for Maritime Technologies on Helgoland.

Around 700 employees from 20 departments currently pool their broad expertise in seven core competencies: Metallic Materials, Polymeric Materials, Surface Technology, Adhesive Bonding, Shaping and Functional Materials, Electromobility, Automation and Digitalization.

At Fraunhofer IFAM, several departments conduct research on the topic of energy with the following focal points: the analysis of energy systems, the development of new energy storage systems and the development of innovative drive concepts.

The interdisciplinary team of the Energy System Analysis group works on issues relating to sustainable, affordable and secure energy supply. To this end, the department creates models, scenarios and strategies for the integration of renewable energy sources and hydrogen into the energy market and develops concepts for the expansion of district heating networks and charging infrastructure as well as for the targeted further development of the energy industry framework conditions.

In the field of electric drives, work is carried out on the conception and design, prototype construction and testing of electric machines and their components.

In the field of energy storage, the focus is on material and process engineering aspects with a focus on Li-ion, solid-state and metal/air batteries. Other research areas include hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and the efficient, highly dynamic storage of thermal energy.