Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME

The core competencies of the Fraunhofer IME are structured in two divisions, "Molecular Biotechnology" and "Applied Ecology", on four locations. In Aachen and Münster, we establish demand-optimized plants, animal cells and microorganisms for various industrial applications. At the institute branch "Bioresources" in Giessen, which belongs to the "Molecular Biotechnology" division, a worldwide unique center for the exploitation of bioresources is being established. The division "Applied Ecology" in Schmallenberg concerns iteself with risk evalutation of synthetic and biogenic substances for both environment and consumers. 

Insects devour a third of the world’s harvests each year. How can we fight these pests without endangering the huge numbers of useful insects? Fraunhofer IME has imitated one of nature’s clever tricks to protect plants in an environmentally friendly way.

Synthetic rubber has been produced and constantly optimized since the beginning of the 20th century. Nevertheless, its mechanical properties cannot compete with those of natural rubber. At the German Rubber Conference in Nuremberg from June 27 to 30, a tire where natural rubber was replaced by biomimetic synthetic rubber is presented to you. Find out how the team succeeded in reducing abrasion without the tires losing grip or low rolling resistance at the joint booth with Fraunhofer IMWS and PAZ (Science Campus, booth S9-12/-14).

An online survey had been conducted in the course of May - July 2021 to collect potential update needs and suggestions. The German Environment Agency contracted Fraunhofer ITEM, Fraunhofer IME and Ramboll for the survey. The joint efforts of all of you led to a total number of over 500 individual suggestions. In order to work towards a prioritization of the update needs, we would like to share the reported suggestions with you asking you for a pre-evaluation of the general significance of an update need.

Dr. Carla Recker (Continental), Prof. Dr. Dirk Prüfer (University of Münster) and Dr. Christian Schulze Gronover (Fraunhofer IME) have been nominated for the Federal President's Award for Technology and Innovation 2021 ("Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2021") with their joint project "Sustainable tires from dandelions – Innovations from biology, technology and agriculture". The German Federal President’s Office announced this today at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Every year, the Federal President presents the Federal President's Award to individuals or teams for outstanding technical, engineering, or scientific innovation.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Vilcinskas, head of the Branch for Bioresources, presents the research area of ​​insect biotechnology, which pursues the goal of developing organisms as biological resources for applications in medicine, crop protection and the food and feed industry.

The Fraunhofer Institutes ITEM and IME and Ramboll were commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency to develop a survey to test the OECD Test Guidelines. OECD Test Guidelines display an important tool to evaluate the impacts of chemicals on the environment.

Within the framework of a virtual meeting, Dr. Kwang-Zin Lee accepted the grant for the joint project "HOPE" of around 250,000 euros for the Bioresources Branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME.