Fraunhofer IPA: Strategic partnership with Sugino
The Japanese mechanical engineering company Sugino has entered into a strategic partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. Employees from the IPA and Sugino will conduct joint research in the centres for dispersion technology and particle technology over the next two years.
The focus of the joint research is on the industrial processing of biopolymers. “Sugino has excellent knowledge in the production of pastes and slurries for coating materials and storage technology, but also in the processing of biopolymers,” informs the Business Unit Manager Process Industry at Fraunhofer IPA, Ivica Kolaric. “This cooperation offers the opportunity to bring the knowledge gained in research into application and to implement it profitably. Regional users in particular can also benefit from this know-how, for example in the approval and certification of new plants.”
The Fraunhofer IPA bundles the existing competences in this area of surface technology in the Centre for Dispersion Technology. With its comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach, the centre covers the entire process chain of dispersion technology, from the development of scientific fundamentals to industrial application. The scientists conduct research, for example, on the safety of processes and plants and on energy and resource efficiency. Dr Marc Entenmann, head of the Centre for Dispersion Technology, comments: “As a cooperation partner, Sugino symbiotically complements our expertise in surface technology”.
Degree of automation, energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness
In this cooperation project, the IPA scientists accompany Sugino in the development of their applications and offer their support in the design of the overall process and also in the selection of the right materials. In this way, important variables such as the degree of automation, energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness are taken into account right from the start and controlled during development.
This cooperation project also renewed the collaboration between the Fraunhofer IPA and the most important research institution for applied research in Japan, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Kansai (AIST Kansai) in Japan. At the opening symposium, key AIST representatives and scientists spoke about the collaboration, biopolymers and polymer processing.
