Business Fields Applied Ecology

The Applied Ecology division located at Schmallenberg makes Fraunhofer IME the Fraunhofer Institute with an explicit ecological focus. Our goal is to identify and evaluate the risks of synthetic and biogenic substances for the environment and the impact on consumers, and ultimately to minimize these risks.

We test and evaluate the environmental compatibility of industrial chemicals (REACH), active substances such as pesticides, biocides, human and veterinary drugs, and products such as from nano- and recycling technology. In addition, we use our chemical analysis expertise to ensure food safety and improve food quality.

We carry out the majority of our projects as contract research for large and medium-sized commercial enterprises. However, through project work on behalf of national and european authorities, consulting activities, and membership in regulatory bodies, the institute also exerts significant influence on technical guideline development and environmental policy decisions.

Our research, development, and services are divided into four business areas: environmental risk assessment of chemicals, soil and water protection, environmental risk assessment of agrochemicals, and evaluation of food safety and consumer risk assessment. These areas allow us to address the relevant customer groups.

Our departments are structured according to core competencies and work together on projects across departments. An essential component of this is our quality assurance in accordance with GLP (Good Laboratory Practice).

Here you will find information about the Fraunhofer Institute in Schmallenberg.

For 20 years, scientists at Fraunhofer IME have been travelling throughout Germany to sample soils from various ecosystems. With their help, the condition of the soils is documented and evaluated on behalf of the German Environment Agency. The samples are stored in the German Environmental Specimen Bank at extremely low temperatures so that their biological and chemical information can also be determined in future investigations.
Our newly created information website provides a good insight into our work and all the associated work steps:

Soil sampling– Fraunhofer IME

The SETAC Europe 35th Annual Meeting is held in Vienna, Austria from 11 - 15 May 2025 and hosts scientists from Europe and overseas.

Chemists and biologists of the Fraunhofer IME participate in the Setac meeting with numerous poster and platform presentations, where they present their current research results.

These contributions can be found on this Website.

The 35th Annual Meeting of Setac Europe will take place in Vienna in May 2025. Abstracts can still be submitted until November 20, 2024.
Dr. Sebastian Eilebrecht, Head of Department Ecotoxicogenomics, is co-chair of the session "1.05 - Molecular Ecotoxicology and Omics Perspectives: Advancing mechanistic understanding for environmental risk assessment”. Julia Peters, PhD student of the Department of Ecological Chemistry, is co-chair of the session “3.06 - Can biodegradable polymers serve as a safe and sustainable solution for the accumulation of polymers in the environment?”
Both are looking forward to the submission of numerous abstracts:

More Information:  

1.05 - Molecular Ecotoxicology and Omics Perspectives: Advancing Mechanistic Understanding for Environmental Risk Assessment

3.06 - Can Biodegradable Polymers Serve as a Safe and Sustainable Solution to Environmental Accumulation of Polymers?

35. SETAC Europe 2025

OECD test guideline published on June 25, 2024 covering the Hyallela azteca Bioconcentration Test (HYBIT). The test guideline provides a non-vertebrate test for bioconcentration in aquatic environments. We perform the Hyalella bioconcentration test with animals raised in the laboratory of Fraunhofer IME under standardized conditions. Fraunhofer IME offers testing adhering to GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) principles.

OECD test guideline

As of March 1^st, 2024, Prof. Dr Christoph Schäfers has been appointed to the management of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME and will now lead the institute with its four locations together with Prof. Dr Stefan Schillberg.

Christoph Schäfers knows Fraunhofer IME in Schmallenberg like the back of his hand. The qualified biologist and habilitated ecotoxicologist has been loyal to the Fraunhofer Institute for 30 years and has since promoted the further development of the Applied Ecology division as a European leader in substance-related environmental risk assessment and international guideline development. He joined the former Fraunhofer Institute IUCT in Schmallenberg as a scientist in 1994. He shaped the institute with his technical expertise as a laboratory and department head in ecotoxicology as well as leading Fraunhofer IME operationally and strategically through the Fraunhofer landscape as head of the Applied Ecology division since 2009, and also as acting institute director from 2017 to 2022. During this time, the turnover of contract research and the number of employees more than doubled, which justified a major expansion of the property on the Aberg in Schmallenberg. The Fraunhofer Institute is delighted to have an experienced and committed institute director in Prof. Schäfers, who is also highly appreciated by employees for his collegial management style.

The SETAC Europe 34th Annual Meeting is held in Seville, Spain from 5 - 9 May 2024 and hosts scientists from Europe and overseas.

Chemists and biologists of the Fraunhofer IME participate in the Setac meeting with numerous poster and platform presentations, where they present their current research results.

These contributions can be found on this website.

A HESI workshop on “Alternatives to Chronic Fish Toxicity Testing” was held in Paris, France on October 25-26 2023, attended by 35 multi-sector scientists from 12 different countries.  The workshop was aimed at developing a strategy to guide alternative approaches for the assessment of chronic toxicity to fish, with a focus on how new science and approaches can be effectively used to improve our ability to protect the environment from the potential chronic impacts of chemicals. From Fraunhofer IME in Schmallenberg, Dr. Matthias Teigeler and Dr. Sebastian Eilebrecht took part in the workshop.

The workshop key messages and Information HESI-Workshop

We present an insight into new assessment procedures and test methods that are required due to a changed perception of risks:

• When water fleas perceive fish: Fish kairomones initiate a protective reaction in the water flea Daphnia magna
• WildOMICs: Unravelling the biological potential of the German Environmental Specimen
• Leachability as a Measure for Substance Mobility in the classification as PMT/vPvM
• Portrait: our long-time colleague Uwe Boshof.

We hope you enjoy reading: Newsletter NOV23

The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) had commissioned the two Fraunhofer Institutes IME and ITEM as well as Ramboll Deutschland GmbH to conduct a survey to review the OECD test guidelines. With the help of international expert groups, test guidelines were identified that currently do not correspond to the current state of science and technology. Only the OECD TGs used to assess environmental impacts were considered. After completing the surveys, the results were discussed in three thematic workshops. Recommendations for the revision of the OECD TGs were developed and prioritized, which were finally presented to the members of the Working Party of National Coordinators for the OECD Test Guidelines Program (WNT). Contact Fraunhofer IME: Prof. Dr. Christian Schlechtriem.

Read the report

Read the press release of the project consortium on the successful conclusion

The iMulch Leitmarkt.NRW project was successfully completed with the participation of the Fraunhofer IME in Schmallenberg. In the study, Dr Dieter Hennecke and his team investigated the fate of microplastics from various agricultural mulch films in arable soils.

PRESS RELEASE

Contributions about the Fraunhofer Institute in Schmallenberg from previous years can be found here.