Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI

Food safety, sustainability and fairness are important, but not the only objectives which have to be attained in the agricultural and food systems. In the project MATS (Making Agricultural Trade Sustainable) Fraunhofer ISI has developed, together with European, African and South American partners, a model for sustainable agricultural trade in the year 2035 and a roadmap how to get there. The closing publication shows concrete measures, and a selection of examples gives further details.

Using electric vehicles to store energy and feed back into the grid could soon save Europe’s energy companies and motorists billions of euros a year, a new study finds. On behalf of Transport & Environment (T&E),  Fraunhofer ISI and Fraunhofer ISE have modelled the potential savings and identified reasons that still prevents Europe from tapping into the growing ‘free’ storage potential.

The following conclusion is drawn in a publication that has been taken up by a German media: “Overall, an alternative policy to keep existing NPPs in 2002 and build new ones would have halved spending and ensured Germany could meet its climate targets.“ 

The authors of this response are of the opinion that the underlying calculation is based on a fundamental methodological error, which leads to double counting most of the expenditure on renewable energies. The analysis conducted is therefore not scientifically tenable.

It is becoming increasingly more imperative for decision makers to understand the dynamics between innovation and transformation. Inspired by the 50th anniversary of Fraunhofer ISI, the institute's employees have compiled an anthology that looks at the development of important research fields over the past five decades. The publication entitled “Systems and Innovation Research in Transition – Research Questions and Trends in Historical Perspective” has now been published by Springer Verlag (Heidelberg).

In the MobilKULT project, we are investigating the connections between infrastructures, mobility habits, mobility culture and attitudes toward policy measures in the field of mobility such as the Deutschland-Ticket. The survey conducted in spring 2024 looks at how much people’s opinions about different mobility measures diverge. Our findings: Across different social groups, the responses show a high degree of similarity and continuous support for measures such as the Deutschland-Ticket – but there is also agreement that there is currently little support for the transformation of the transport sector.

The 28^th International Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators 2024 came to a close in Berlin today. At the three-day event, over 350 participants from the research community discussed the complex dynamics between concepts of openness and closedness in science, technology and innovation, and their impact on research, policy and practice. Fraunhofer ISI was the main organizer of the conference, which was co-hosted by Humboldt University of Berlin (Robert K. Merton Center for Science Studies) and the German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Studies in collaboration with the European Network of Indicator Developers.

Through research and innovation, the European Union can improve its supply of critical raw materials – but how exactly can this be achieved? A new study led by Fraunhofer ISI on behalf of the STOA Panel of the European Parliament sheds light on the role of research and innovation along the value chain, it identifies research needs and evaluates concrete proposals for measures in terms of costs, benefits and feasibility.

The scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI annually publish more than 200 publications including research reports, books, working papers and scientific articles which together cover the broad spectrum of ISI's research. Every month, the latest Fraunhofer ISI specialist publications will be updated in an institute-wide list.