Fraunhofer Center Circular Economy for Mobility CCEM

The vehicle industry is facing massive challenges. Whether cars, ships, planes or trains: Environmentally and climate-friendly mobility requires more efficient vehicle and production technologies as well as holistic mobility concepts. The solutions are many and varied: alternative drive systems, automated processes, digitization and networking, autonomous driving. The intelligent use of renewable raw materials and multi-material solutions as well as modular smart interiors offers enormous potential for further developments and comprehensive use in vehicles. The development of new networked manufacturing processes for hybrid components is also accelerating the use of these new lightweight materials.

In the Fraunhofer CCEM, the Fraunhofer Institutes IST, IFAM, IWU and WKI pool their expertise in the research topics of automated production systems, future interior concepts, life cycle engineering (LCE) and sustainable product design. Taking into account new types of drive such as electric or hydrogen drive as well as the increasing customer demand for individualization, the Fraunhofer CCEM supports the manufacturers and suppliers of the respective industries in developing sustainable solutions and bringing them to market – from sustainable raw materials, through resource-efficient manufacturing and on to the most complete recycling possible.

For the research and development of hybrid components of the future, the Open Hybrid LabFactory e. V. (OHLF), the TU Braunschweig and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft provide a joint platform for industrial partners and the public institutions involved. Within the framework of a new type of cooperation model - with science and industry at eye level - a unique infrastructure has been created here, with which ideas become innovations. With the spirit of today's FutureLabs and the interaction of experts and developers, new technologies and processes can be tested and applied in practice to determine their marketability and economic sustainability. 

To implement this concept, a consortium of proven scientific partners, market-leading industrial companies and highly innovative small and medium-sized enterprises has therefore come together under the umbrella of the Open Hybrid LabFactory e. V. (OHLF). This public-private partnership was initiated in 2012 under the leadership of the Automotive Research Centre Niedersachsen (NFF) at the TU Braunschweig and is funded as part of the “Research Campus” initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

In addition, we also work closely with the Fraunhofer Project Center for Energy Storage and Systems ZESS in Braunschweig. Together, we are developing intelligent solutions for vehicle integration of the next-generation battery. This includes their production as well as the development of corresponding components derived from the use of alternative drives.