Fraunhofer researchers have succeeded in transferring the mechanical quality of natural rubber for strain-induced crystallization to synthetic rubber and establishing manufacturing processes.

The Nokian Tyres Betula concept tire incorporates birch bark material in its tread, sourced from the pulp, paper, and plywood industries by the Swedish company Reselo.

German Bionic has developed an AI-powered exoskeleton called EXIA for physically demanding work such as changing tires. EXIA is part of the Innovation Lab at The Tire Cologne.

Munich based high end footwear brand nat-2 and designer Talia Luvaton present a very special collaboration by launching handmade sneakers made from flower rusted leather.

Leica is now offering a hemp strap for mechanical watches made from LOVR. LOVR consists of hemp remnants and plant-based additives and comes from the Darmstadt-based materials company revoltech.

By embedding conductive liquid metals in stretchable textiles and soft interfaces, a surface for tactile control of a lamp was developed at the WINT Design Lab.

At the Parali design studio, Aarushi Mittal uses traditional techniques to transform agricultural waste and rice straw into sustainable textiles and home decor.

At Fraunhofer IMM, a so-called bolometer chip was developed for precise power measurement in nuclear fusion reactors, even under extreme conditions.

With Solio, Katherine Lopez has developed an oil dispenser in the form of a sample set made from sunflower seed shells, a secondary material from the food industry.

The Swedish interior agency "Industrial Poetry" has investigated the inherent flexibility of 3D printed furniture in its COX system by taking advantage of UPM's wood filament.

Ecoblaq is a molecule manipulation method, a natural chemical reaction, making the wood change colour. That is why the natural wood patterns still shows, including the sense of warmth and structure…

Lotus seeds can be found in every supermarket in Asia. They are valued as a gluten-free and healthy snack and are available in many different flavors.

The focus of the project "Design for Recycling" is a seat shell that is made from different natural fiber reinforced plastics (NFRPs) in order to significantly reduce the ecological footprint.

At the ELMIA Subcontractor in Jönköping, Fraunhofer LBF is showing promising approaches for sustainable manufacturing processes with natural fiber-reinforced materials and the lightweight design…

With the visionary seat concepts, BMW Design presents ideas for concrete applications using other innovative materials and production methods that contribute to lower CO2 emissions and increased use…

With the "Texoversum", Reutlingen University has put into operation a training and innovation center for the textile industry. The components were wound from fibers that are fixed with a special…

The family-run business Dyaqua has developed a technology to integrate a photovoltaic panel into roof tiles with terracotta aesthetics, in order to bring solar energy to historic cities and their…

Thai designer Irene Purasachit uses discarded cut flowers to make eco-friendly floral sponge, paper and textiles.

Finnish company Woodio has developed the world's first toilet made from a biomaterial based on wood cellulose and resins. The product received the Design Plus Award 2023 at the ISH in Frankfurt.

With her "Solar Blanket", designer Mireille Steinhage shows how the use of self-sufficient products can cushion the burden of rising energy prices.

Berlin based start-up MotorSkins designs and produces textiles with embedded fluidics for Human movement and Human-machine interaction. Their textile systems are capable of sensing and giving haptic…

NaturLoop has been developing a technology for biocomposites from agricultural byproducts and natural adhesives. Its first product, Cocoboard is made from coconut husk fibers and tannin extracts.

A research initiative of the Fraunhofer IAP aims to produce hydrogen by operating small wind turbines for personal use. Small rotors and safe tanks are currently being developed for this purpose.

With EPHEA, the Italian manufacturer Mogu presented a new mushroom-based leather alternative at Paris Fashion Week and expanded the options for the shoe and fashion industry.

Edible mushrooms are considered an important food source worldwide. An Australian company has launched salty mushroom chips as a nutritious alternative to standard potato chips.

Israeli start-up Plantish has developed a 3D printed plant-based alternative to salmon that has the same nutritional value as fish. It can be prepared in the same way as regular salmon.

At Aalto University students developed the DipWrap, a bio-based protective film for cucumbers made from agar-agar, carnauba wax and dispersed cellulose nanocrystals as an alternative to plastic…

The 3D Pioneers Challenge 2022 adresses tech pioneers who pave the way for technology transfer to a sustainable future. Diana Drewes is part of the top-class jury.

On the occasion of formnext in Frankfurt, the start-up Ponticon presented a process for developing new metallic materials for additive manufacturing based on high-speed laser cladding.

thyssenkrupp has reached an important milestone in its transformation towards climate-neutral steel. The first batch of steel was delivered with reduced CO2 emissions.

The company Swiss Wood Solutions is working on modifying domestic solid wood and veneer so that it becomes a true high-performance material, in some cases surpassing the properties of tropical woods.

Cell-cultured meat is seen as a future source of protein to combat climate change. Mosa Meat and Aleph Farms have developed advanced technologies for extracting meat from animal cells.

The Berlin designer Julian Lechner, in cooperation with Lilienthal Berlin, launched the world's first watch made from recycled coffee grounds, waxes and oils.

Scientists from the Fraunhofer WKI and the University of Hohenheim have succeeded in extracting the bioplastic hydroxymethylfurfural HMF from old bakery goods for formaldehyde-free resins and…

The Ultraleggera 1.660 is the lightest chair in the world. Oskar Zięta designed it in response to the feather-light challenge of Gio Ponti's legendary Superleggera design from 1957.

Stand-up paddling is one of the trend sports. At the Fraunhofer WKI, a team of researchers is developing a stand-up paddleboard that is made entirely from renewable raw materials.

The glass finisher sedak has developed its digital printing technology to such an extent that gold and silver can be applied to architectural glass that is up to 18 meters long.

In the "UNclean Plastics" project, the two designers Friedrich Gerlach and Felix Stockhausen developed a printing process for the additive manufacture of toothbrushes from contaminated polypropylene.

The Munich shoe entrepreneur Sebastian Thies, in cooperation with the Israeli start-up Remeant, has brought a sustainable sneaker made of real, recycled bubble wrap onto the market.

Fine dust endangers our health. One of the main sources is traffic, especially the abrasion of brake disc. Technologies from Sigma Materials and Applied Nano Surfaces prevent abrasion of potentially…

The municipal utility company Emasesa is planning a pilot project to collect 35 tons of bitter oranges from the streets of Seville to generate electricity from them.

Under the name "Revolve Air", Andrea Mocellin is presenting a wheelchair which can be folded to the size of a piece of hand luggage and which a passenger can easily take on the plane.

The British company BladeBUG has developed a six-legged robot over the past few years that will take over cost-intensive maintenance work on offshore wind turbine systems in the future. The company…

The fair produced, sustainable and vegan "I WILL RISE" sneakers by designer Nando Nkrumah from Cologne combine wonderful, hand-woven fabrics from Ghana and exceptional shoe-making skills from…

BASF Digital Farming GmbH has received the renowned Crop Science Award for the best innovation in digital agriculture. As part of the Agricultural Solutions division of BASF, the company received an…

With its CityBot EDAG presented a mobility concept that integrates artificial intelligence. It is being developed as a game changer for the Smart City of the future.

Multimorbidity refers to the simultaneous occurrence of several diseases. It is particularly characteristic in the elderly. Under the name "Smart Medication", the designer Kilian Frieling has…

The availability of affordable, independent and, above all, clean electrical energy is still limited worldwide. With IGNIS Berlin-based designer Tobias Trübenbacher has developed a tool that converts…

In October 2019, NorDan was the first window manufacturer in the world to launch 3D printed windows for commercial sales. The first 3D printed windows series are circular windows. The products are…

The "Flexible Forms" pavilion of the BioMat Group at the ITKE in Stuttgart is a double-curved, parametrically designed segment shell made of light, one-sided curved wood and bio-composite elements.

Ceramic Foam is a fascinating material characterized by its airiness, its open porous surface and cellular structure. By foaming the volume of the original ceramic material increases, generating…

"This is urine" is a project that explores the value of urine by uncovering its potential new roles within the society. Unlike the common belief shared in modern society, urine has been widely used…

Fruit Maker is a conceptual work by the designer Tor Robinson from Wellington / New Zealand. It explores ways in which 3D printing could be used by the food industry in the future.

In the "Organico" project, the designer Philipp Hainke made an attempt to present a solution to the question of the future of material.

Since naturally grown bamboo tubes come in various sizes, diameters and thicknesses, industrial use has been difficult up to now. With the help of a patented production process, it is now possible to…

Stealth Key is the first 3D metal printed key that provides unparallel levels of key duplication security. Today, conventional high security keys provide little barrier to unauthorised 3D printing…

Russian-born and Berlin-based designer Anastasiya Koshcheeva is turning a decade old Siberian handcraft from her hometown into contemporary design from birch bark.

Phono-Luminous Paper is a novel material, which produces both light and sound in response to touch. By gently touching the surface of the material, traces of light emerge and the surface itself…

With "Invisible Spring", the designer Nina Lieven presents a material development for a hinge that automatically springs back into its starting position after actuation and has a remarkable memory…

The basis for the development of the "BendyBag" was the organic photovoltaic material "Solare", which is ideal for a simple integration in textile solutions. In her design, the designer Sandra…

LiCrete is a translucent building material from Gravelli from Prague and consists of 85% concrete and 15% plastic. With its special translucency, it is suitable for staging backlit walls, stairs or…

NovoFibre is the world‘s first Oriented Structural Straw Board (OSSB). It is made of 100 % high-quality natural wheat straw and produced in a continuous hot pressing process.

A new manufacturing innovation from the Alpine region is further blurring the boundary between two and three dimensional design. To produce a sheet of photographic metal the relevant image is punched…

EnerKite GmbH from Brandenburg has focused on the development of a mobile 30 kW airborne wind power plant in recent years. The new system celebrated its maiden flight in Pritzwalk, Brandenburg, at…

FluidSolids consists of industrial waste from renewable raw materials, which is shaped by a degradable binding agent based on proteins.

The unusual geometry of the stool is formed by utilizing gravity and a magnetic field. The designer Jolan van der Wiel has built up a machine with a large magnet and presented it at imm Cologne 2012.

The invention of a textile screw forms the basis for the recyclability of all climatex textiles and is the reason for the targeted arrangement of natural and synthetic fibers in functional rooms.

On the basis of a traditional fermentation process using genetically modified bacteria, spider silk proteins can for the first time be produced in any quantity for a wide variety of applications.

Julian Lechner was inspired in an Italian coffee bar to create a mug using coffee grounds from espresso machines and caramelized sugar. The natural binding agent enables around 20 cups of coffee to…

Alphamesh refers to facade and surface materials that consist of a large number of interwoven metal rings or of scale braids. The transparency of the ring structure enables working with light effects…

Wassilij Grod from the Bauhaus University Weimar has developed a lightweight bamboo panel as a material-efficient building material. The middle layer consists of diagonally cut bamboo ring pieces…

It is called "Concrete Cloth" and was originally developed for military purposes. What is meant is a spacer fabric filled with dry concrete, which can be flexibly deformed and fully hardens in just…

The technology is based on melting the surface of the plastic and foaming the material using a laser beam. Gas bubbles form, which are firmly integrated into the material structure.

Carbo e-therm from FutureCarbon GmbH, Bayreuth is a surface heating system whose function is based on the integration of carbon nanotubes CNT into a coating.

Based on olive leaves as a renewable raw material and residue, wet-green GmbH has developed a new natural olive tanning agent with cross-linking properties and derived an environmentally friendly…

BananaPlac is the result of a student project at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). Fiber material from banana trees is used to produce a thermally formable panel material.

In lightweight construction for mobile applications, the materials used must have a complex profile of properties. One example is Aerofabríx from Aeroíx in Berlin. The manufacturer uses flocking…

Nicola Burggraf developed an installation using bioluminescent effects, in which luminaires react to the movement of visitors and can emit flashes of light.

Luminoso is the name of a wood-based material with translucent properties that is used in interior design as a transparent room divider or projection surface.

They can be found on the coasts of southern Italy, Tunisia and Sicily. Neptune balls are matted seaweed balls from the Posidonia oceanica plant with some exceptional properties for the construction…