Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung IPA

Fraunhofer is the largest research organization for applied research in Europe. Its research fields are orientated towards man’s needs: health, safety, communication, mobility, energy and the environment.

With nearly 1.000 employees, Fraunhofer IPA is one of the largest institutes in the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. It has an annual budget of over 60 million euros, with more than one third coming from industrial projects.

We see opportunities. We give impulses. We manufacture the future.

The 14 departments of Fraunhofer IPA are supplemented by six business units: Automotive, Machinery and Equipment Industry, Electronics and Microsystems, Power, Medical Engineering and Biotechnology and Process Industry. This structure enables us to help our practice partners improve their market position as well as support their market entry into new application fields.

Strategic cornerstones “Mass sustainability” and “Mass personalization”

The focus of our strategic cornerstones is on sustainable projects with high industry participation. Mass sustainability aims at minimizing the consumption of resources while maximizing the standard of living. In flagship projects, such as the Ultra-efficiency Factory, Fast Storage BW, the Center for Lightweight Production Technology and the Center Smart Materials, we are putting this concept into practice together with our partners from industry, university research and politics. Mass personalization unites the advantages of economies of scale and scope. In ARENA2036, the research campus for functionally-integrated lightweight automotive construction and in Campus Personalized Production, we are working on ways to manufacture personalized products in batch sizes of one at the same price as mass-produced products.