Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS
Circular plastics, biodegradable polymers, and biobased materials are gaining importance in the chemical industry, packaging, and medical technology. To develop reliable solutions, materials as well as manufacturing and degradation processes must be understood down to the micro‑ and nanostructural level, and the insights gained must be translated, together with industrial partners, into market‑ready products and processes. Fraunhofer IMWS now offers expanded capabilities for this purpose, including applications such as high‑pressure hydrogen tanks and innovative medical devices.
The Fraunhofer IMWS business unit “Polymer Applications” has many years of experience with fiber‑reinforced high‑performance thermoplastics and innovative rubber composites and covers the entire development chain, from the material’s microstructure to customized components. With the Fraunhofer Pilot Plant Center for Polymer Synthesis and Processing (PAZ) in the ValuePark Schkopau, where synthesis and processing technologies are transferred to industrially relevant scales, excellent opportunities are available for scaling up polymer innovations.
In the new project “InBiPo – Innovative Infrastructure for Biomaterials and Polymer Research”, the existing UD tape and injection‑molding facilities at the Fraunhofer PAZ in Schkopau are being expanded with additional sensors, tooling, and testing systems. These upgrades create the prerequisites for developing high‑pressure tanks made from recyclable thermoplastic fiber‑reinforced composites and open up new perspectives for hydrogen mobility as well as for industrial structural transformation in Saxony‑Anhalt.
Within the business unit “Biological and Macromolecular Materials,” Fraunhofer IMWS also benefits from the expansion of the biological safety level S2 facilities at its main site in Halle (Saale). A respirometer for continuous measurement of microbial gas exchange, an incubator for cultivation under defined conditions, and a class II biosafety cabinet provide the analytical basis both to demonstrate the full circularity of newly developed biobased plastics and to assess the degradation behavior of biomaterials in medical and environmental applications.
The “Biological and Macromolecular Materials” unit bundles expertise in the development and characterization of biomaterials as well as in the investigation of biological interactions between materials and their living environment. Key focus areas include wound care, tissue engineering, biocompatibility assessment, and the biofunctionalization of surfaces for medical and biomedical applications.
For the continued development of these core competencies, the acquisition of a state‑of‑the‑art DualBeam SEM‑FIB SCIOS is of central importance. This system enables the institute to offer highly precise morphological and analytical characterization of soft matter at the cutting edge of technology, including biological interfaces, cell–material interactions, biofilms, and macromolecular structures. It allows the investigation of beam‑sensitive biological samples at an unprecedented level of resolution and analytical detail, thereby enabling robust structure–property relationships to be derived—crucial for the development of innovative medical devices and biomedical materials.
Fraunhofer IMWS actively integrates regional companies into its research collaborations and networks with large industry. This creates additional access to customer relationships and industrial partnerships and generates a strong leverage effect for the innovation ecosystem in Saxony‑Anhalt.
(May 4, 2026)