Press Releases 2025

Which emerging technologies will need most resources by 2045? This is the question that researchers at Fraunhofer ISI and Fraunhofer IZM are trying to answer on behalf of the Germany Mineral Resource Agency DERA. In its fourth inception, the study on „Raw Materials for Emerging Technologies“ is again offering invaluable insights and recommendations for politicians, business leaders, manufacturers, scientists, and the wider public.

To unlock the full potential of bio-based innovations, a new policy brief calls on the European Commission to standardise coordination in this area, strengthen funding and improve market conditions.

Quantum computers will increasingly threaten the security of traditional encryption methods in the future. Quantum-secure options such as PQC (post-quantum cryptography) and QKD (quantum key distribution) offer ways to future-proof communication, especially in security-critical areas such as public administration, defense, and healthcare. A study coordinated by Fraunhofer ISI as part of the umbrella project Quantum Communication Germany (SQuaD) highlights the framework conditions, challenges, and promising application sectors for QKD – as well as potential that goes beyond QKD.

What are the trends in electric mobility and electric car batteries? What is the environmental impact of electric cars? What progress has been made in terms of range, what happens to the used batteries, and how high is the risk of fire? Fraunhofer ISI addresses these and many other questions along the entire battery value chain in its policy brief “Batteries for Electric Cars – Fact Check and Need for Action – An Update”.

A new study by Fraunhofer ISI recently published in Nature Energy explores how domestic battery production in Europe can be expanded and how the European continent can become more independent from other parts of the world. The study derives policy recommendations from modelled scenarios how to strengthen the European battery industry.

In a study on quantum technologies titled “Quantum Technologies and Quantum Ecosystems” a team of authors from Fraunhofer ISI is investigating the potentials, research activities and innovation policy. To this end, the technology fields of quantum sensors, quantum communication and quantum computing were analyzed, an international comparison of innovation strategies was conducted and recommendations for political action in Germany were drawn up. The study was commissioned by the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI) and the results were incorporated in their annual report, which was presented to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on February 26.