Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS"The pace of innovation in composite materials is enormous"
The Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS will be presenting innovative solutions for sustainable lightweight sandwich construction at the JEC World trade fair in Paris from March 4-7, 2025. In this interview, Prof. Dr. Maik Feldmann, Head of the "Polymer Applications" business unit, explains what will be on offer to customers and what he expects from the trade fair.
What do you think will be the most important topics at JEC World?
The trade fair will once again show how many drivers of innovation there are in the field of composites and how fast the industry is developing. Recycling and renewable raw materials are certainly a very present topic. A few years ago, these aspects were hardly considered, today there is a separate trade fair area for them - it is impressive what has been created here in a short space of time. Personally, I am particularly looking forward to exploring trends in the mobility and hydrogen sectors. Fiber-reinforced plastics can make very important contributions in the field of hydrogen storage, for example, and we are also working on solutions in this area ourselves, both for the materials used and for suitable tools.
What topics will the Fraunhofer IMWS be presenting to visitors this time?
We will be presenting very powerful and efficient solutions for lightweight structures made from recyclable thermoplastic sandwich materials. With TS Moulding, we have developed a process that enables mass production and at the same time offers a wide range of options for shaping and functionalization. In January, we received the JEC Innovation Award in the "Automotive & Road Transportation - Process" category for this technology. I am very much looking forward to presenting the many advantages of this process to visitors. At our exhibition booths, we will be showing a storage compartment flap for a truck driver’s cabin, which we have developed as a demonstrator together with partners. However, the areas of application for the technology go far beyond this; they are just as suitable for honeycomb core solutions as for other sandwich constructions. I would also like to explore this in talks with customers.
The Institute is represented at three different booths. Why is that?
We will be showing the demonstrator mentioned above at the booths of our research partners ENGEL Austria (Booth: 5L106), ElringKlinger (Booth: 6Q108) and ThermHex (Booth: 6P108). They were all involved in the development. I am delighted that they will now also be highlighting this technology. This shows how attractive the manufacturing process we have developed is for industry. Our approach offers very viable solutions for important current challenges in many companies - from reduced material usage to recyclability.
When JEC World comes to an end on March 7, what would be your ideal conclusion?
I would be very pleased if we could talk to partners with whom we can further develop and implement the TS moulding technology, including for other industries than automotive. We don't want to content ourselves with having developed a promising demonstrator. The aim is to actually transfer this innovative approach to series production and industrial application. In the best case scenario, we will be able to hold targeted discussions with the right customers for this step at JEC World.