Press Releases

The Estonian deep-tech startup New Standard Oil has integrated thermal biomass valorisation approaches, including those from Fraunhofer UMSICHT, into a unified modular platform and launched its first industrial prototype. The goal is to convert currently unused biowaste streams across Europe into valuable renewable products.

Fraunhofer UMSICHT is responsible for the chemical recycling aspect of the KOLLEKT joint research project. At it's Sulzbach-Rosenberg site UMSICHT is developing a pyrolysis process that converts plastic waste from end-of-life vehicles – which is no longer suitable for mechanical recycling – into basic chemicals for new plastics. The focus is on components containing polycarbonate and mixed plastic fractions from headlamps.

​​​​Materials manufacturer Covestro and the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT have signed a contract to operate a 2kt per year pilot plant for smart pyrolysis of rigid polyurethane foam waste. The plant will be operational by 2028.

A major European research initiative coordinated by Fraunhofer UMSICHT has been launched to develop integrated solutions for textile waste recycling. The AUTOLOOP project aims to create a comprehensive system that could process 1.24 million tonnes of textile waste annually by 2050, whilst potentially creating over 130,000 green jobs across the EU. This project aims to develop, test and integrate automated sorting, tracing, and closed-loop recycling technologies for polyester-based textiles (NRT), addressing the pressing challenge of textile waste management.

Interactive map by Fraunhofer shows 2.8 Mt/a planned capacity but only 0.29 Mt/a operational. Pyrolysis dominates the project pipeline (1.68 Mt/a planned), while larger gasification plants remain unbuilt. Three solvent-based/solvolysis plants deliver 27 kt/a in operation.

Hillary Onyebuchi Onyishi from the Advanced Carbon Conversion Technologies department at the Fraunhofer UMSICHT institute branch in Sulzbach-Rosenberg wrote his doctoral thesis on the topic of »Investigation of factors influencing the yields and qualities of the products from the thermo-catalytic reforming process« successfully defended at the Ruhr University Bochum. The research for this took place at the Fraunhofer UMSICHT Sulzbach-Rosenberg branch.

The SEAFAIRER project's objective is to demonstrate technology for producing renewable marine biofuels, aiming to reduce GHG emissions in the shipping industry. The project is funded by a 10 million euro budget, co-financed by the Horizon Europe program.

The EU-funded FERTIMANURE project aimed to develop, test, and validate advanced nutrient management strategies to produce competitive fertilizers that contribute to high yields. The primary goal was to recycle valuable nutrients from livestock manure and produce bio-based fertilizers.

Together with project partner Endress Holzfeuerungsanlagen, Fraunhofer researchers have developed a new type of firing technology that can reduce NOx emissions by up to 80 percent. This means that future limit values can also be reliably complied with.

The ISSDEMO project is developing an ultra-dynamic high-temperature heat storage based on a phase changing metal alloy. It is intended to provide flexible process steam from renewable energies in industry. A demonstration plant for the system is being set up and tested at the Bitburger Brewery Group. The project is funded as part of the Clean Energy Transition Partnership Joint Call 2022 and co-financed by the EU.