White Papers, Trend Reports and Studies

The use of artificial intelligence can improve efficiency in industrial production. As part of various research projects with European aerospace companies, the Fraunhofer IPT has identified six promising fields of application for the use of AI.

In this paper, the Fraunhofer IPT, in cooperation with Henkel and Leuphana University, presents a new concept: The "Economies of Synchronization". By synchronizing activities, such as coordinating team members, companies can minimize resources, maximize performance, and increase flexibility. We have developed a structured approach to help companies on their path to increased efficiency and sustainable growth.

The white paper identifies five key challenges of the European innovation system in comparison to the analyzed US and Chinese systems and presents four recommendations for action to overcome these challenges.

The white paper "Resilient value chains for food production" by Fraunhofer IPT, Fraunhofer IME and Fraunhofer IVV shows the successful application of a resilient system architecture. To assess resilience in food production, the team of authors looks at two dimensions: the technical resilience of the production facilities used and the ecosystem resilience of the food grown.

The "ICNAP Study Report 2023" presents the results of five collaborative research and development studies conducted by the International Center for Networked Adaptive Production (ICNAP) together with its industry partners in 2023. The results of the collaboration between researchers and partner companies in the ICNAP community reflect the findings on the following topics: industrialization of artificial intelligence, innovative solutions for energy, the implementation of plug-and-produce, a digital twin demonstrator and an energy monitoring framework.

The presented study draws on the findings of a Cross Industry Group consisting of six renowned industrial com­panies and a range of expert contributors. The group explored both, the challenges and the key factors that contribute to successful corporate startup building. The most insightful aspects of their discussions have been condensed in this whitepaper.

The "ICNAP Study Report 2022" presents the results of five collaborative research and development studies conducted by the International Center for Networked Adaptive Production (ICNAP) together with its industry partners in 2022. The results of the collaboration between researchers and partner companies of the ICNAP community reflect the findings on the following topics: Pricing Models for Industrial Data, Real-Time Digital Twin, Digital Infrastructures for Sustainable Production, Cybersecurity Lab and Industrial Data Spaces.

This whitepaper aims to provide crucial insights into value creation within data-driven ecosystems and the potential benefits companies may gain based on the data within these ecosystems. Following a detailed exploration of data-driven ecosystems and players therein, the paper offers a five-step approach for manufacturing companies to achieve strategic success positions. Based on a study conducted by Fraunhofer IPT, the derived concept was validated and supplemented by recommendations for action.

To provide a basis for the development of digital twins in battery cell manufacturing, this white paper presents a unified definition for the digital twin in battery cell manufacturing, based on existing work.

Systemic innovation success in Europe lags behind its expectations as Europe spends most funding in basic research and development (R&D) while commercialization takes place in other regions such as the US or China. Therefore, this whitepaper aims to enhance the technology transfer for Deep Tech innovations in Europe through developing a framework for actors in Deep Tech ecosystems based on a case study analysis. For this, 25 actors from science and industry in three Deep Tech areas are analyzed – lithium-ion battery cells, semiconductors and electrolyzers. Based on a cross-industrial synthesis, recommendations for actions are derived building on the individual actors’ strengths and weaknesses.