From the Sector

Prof. Manfred Renner and Prof. Christian Doetsch will take joint leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT from August 2022. As renowned scientists, they have most recently shaped the direction of the institute as heads of the Products division and Energy division respectively, and will now follow in the footsteps of Prof. Eckhard Weidner, who has entered retirement.

This is the first time in its history that Fraunhofer UMSICHT is led by two directors. Both institute directors began their professional careers at the institute and from August they will have a joint hand in its future.

Prof. Manfred Renner holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering, specializing in process engineering and business development. Since 2006, he has held various roles at Fraunhofer UMSICHT, most recently heading up the Products division and overseeing its 126 employees and its budget of 14.8 million euros. He has set international standards through his award-winning research into a free of water tanning leather tanning process that uses compressed carbon dioxide. With the development of innovative aerogel-based insulation materials for building facades, he has made a significant contribution to environmentally friendly, circular applications in the construction industry and initiated a number of industrial projects. One of the notable technological breakthroughs made by his team was the development of a new type of fire-resistant glass, which can withstand even the most extreme heat. This won his development team the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize in October 2020.

Alongside becoming institute director, Prof. Renner will also take over the leadership of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE in August 2022. In this role, he will represent the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on a national and international level with regard to the transformation of industry and society to a circular economy. In addition, he will start his professorship in Responsible Process Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Over the course of his professorship, he will shape the systemic development of the circular economy at a corporate, regional and European level.

Prof. Christian Doetsch has worked in energy research for more than 25 years, spending most of this time at Fraunhofer UMSICHT. As head of the Energy division, he managed a team of around 145 employees and was responsible for a budget of approximately 10.4 million euros. His technological focal points are energy storage, Power-to-X technologies including hydrogen electrolysis and chemical conversion, catalysts, and energy system modeling and optimization. His overarching aim is the integration of renewable energies into a cross-sectoral, resilient energy system.

In 2015, Doetsch co-founded the award-winning start-up Volterion GmbH & Co. KG, which develops redox flow batteries. He attained high visibility on a global scale by redesigning stacks, one of the main components of redox flow batteries, an achievement for which he, his team and Volterion representatives were awarded the Joseph von Fraunhofer Prize in May 2021. The energy expert also acts as deputy spokesperson for the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance and task manager for the energy storage group at the International Energy Agency (IEA). He also co-founded the “Open District Hub e. V.,” an association that promotes the energy transition in the sector by means of energy systems integration.

Since January 2020, he has been Professor of Cross Energy Systems at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. In this role, he conducts research into ecological evaluation and resilience of cross-sectoral energy systems.

As of October 1, 2021, Dr. Annegret Vester has assumed responsibility for sustainability issues of the CHT Group. With the Doctor of Chemistry, the ideal person for the CSO position could be found in many respects.
 
Dr. Vester has many years of experience in the transformation of CHT into today's sustainability-focused chemical company in her positions as Head of Global CHT Marketing and as Head of Strategy and Business Development.

In recent years, she has been responsible for the company's excellent rating in the EcoVadis assessment with regard to corporate social responsibility activities. The realignment of the corporate strategy with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) has been one of her tasks, as has the annually published CHT Sustainability Report documenting the measures and successes.

With the appointment of Dr. Vester, the CHT Management Board once again underlines the essential importance of sustainability for the strategic orientation of the globally operating group of companies.

• Preisverleihung in Frankfurt

Emsdetten - Der German Design Award ging in diesem Jahr im Doppelpack an swela, eine Marke der Schmitz Textiles. Die Emsdettener nahmen den begehrten Preis am vergangenen Freitag (7. Februar 2020) für den swela Outdoor-Vorhang Botanic und für den Outdoor-Bezugsstoff GRID entgegen.

„Wir sind absolut happy“, sagte swela-Vertriebsleiter Wouter Hof bei der Übergabe der Auszeichnungen in Frankfurt am Main. „Diese beiden Auszeichnungen sind das Ergebnis einer tollen Teamleistung: Design Studio, technische Entwicklung und Produktion – da hat offensichtlich alles gestimmt.“ Am selben Abend wurden auch die Ausstellungen Excellent Communication Design und Excellent Architecture im Museum Angewandte Kunst eröffnet. Bis zum 23. Februar werden dort alle Gewinner des German Design Awards gezeigt.

swela gehört zu den führenden Herstellern von Sonnenschutz-Textilien, Outdoor-Bezugsstoffen und maritimen Stoffen. Maßstäbe setzt das Emsdettener Unternehmen durch die technische Ausrüstung der Produkte: Sie sind formstabil, pflegeleicht sowie wetterfest, wasserabstoßend, schmutz-, fett- und ölabweisend. Die Auszeichnung mit dem German Design Award 2020 zeigt, dass swela auch beim Design überzeugt.

Die Gewinner im Detail:

Winner für swela Outdoor-Vorhang Botanic in der Kategorie Excellent Product Design – Gardening and Outdoor Living

Sichtschutz nach innen bei nahezu ungehinderter Sicht nach draußen – das bietet der swela Outdoor-Vorhang Botanic. Verbunden mit einer schmutzabweisenden Ausrüstung und hoher Lichtechtheit ist der Artikel für den Einsatz in Wintergärten sowie auf Balkonen und Terrassen geeignet. Neben der Funktion überzeugt auch das Design: Fotorealistische florale Elemente werden mit geometrischen Kachelmustern kombiniert. Abgerundet durch den soften textilen Touch entsteht so ein einzigartiges Produkt für die Außendekoration. Genau das ist auch der Grund, warum die Jury den Artikel zum „Winner“ erklärt hatte: „Dieser Vorhang ist Teil des Trends hin zur Verwendung von Inneneinrichtung im Außenbereich. Er ist energisch, praktisch und modern, mit einem auffälligen Wechselspiel zwischen symmetrischen Formen und botanischen Elementen.“

Winner für swela Outdoor-Bezugsstoff GRID in der Kategorie Excellent Product Design – Gardening and Outdoor Living
 
Der Outdoor-Bezugsstoff GRID besticht durch seine Vielfarbigkeit. Die stilsichere Kombination der farbigen Garne in Kette und Schuss ergibt ein einzigartiges Minikaromuster. Dies sei „ein optisches Highlight in einem Stoff, der sich durch Robustheit und Zweckmäßigkeit auszeichnet“, resümiert die Jury. Gewebt wird der Artikel aus hochwertig verzwirnten Garnen, die speziell für den Outdoor-Bereich entwickelt wurden. Durch sie ist der Stoff widerstandsfähig, licht-, wetter- und farbbeständig, zudem besonders reiß- und reibfest, formstabil und elastisch. Mit insgesamt sieben Farbdesigns entsteht so ein vielseitiger Outdoor-Bezugsstoff für anspruchsvolle Einsatzzwecke.