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The Kompetenznetze Deutschland initiative of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology brings together the best-performing innovation clusters in Germany. These are differentiated in 9 thematical groups and again spread in 8 defined regions within Germany


Latest News

2010-09-01 Common

Image sensors for extreme temperatures

Image sensors which are used as electronic parking aids in cars or for quality control in production systems have to be able to withstand the often very high temperatures that prevail in these environments. Research scientists have produced a CMOS chip which functions even at a temperature of 115 degrees Celsius.
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2010-09-01 Common

Megawatt Laboratory for PV Inverters Starts Operation at Fraunhofer ISE

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg has taken its megawatt laboratory for PV inverters into operation. It is the first and currently the only laboratory in Europe where manufacturers can commission certification, in accordance with the medium-voltage grid codes that have applied since July 1st 2010, of inverters with a power rating of up to one megawatt.
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2010-08-30 Common

Electronics from a printer – of electronic radio tags and lighting wallpapers

Glucose meters and the appropriate test strips for diabetics are expensive. This however might change, since scientists at the Institute of Printing Science and Technology (IDD) at TU Darmstadt are working on a sensor making the electronic devices considerably cheaper. The new sensor is not based on silicon as conducting material, but on plastics.
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2010-01-22, Innovationshighlight

Graffinity enters into Drug Discovery Research Collaboration with Genentech

HEIDELBERG, Germany — October 15, 2009 — Graffinity Pharmaceuticals GmbH announced today that it has entered into a drug discovery research collaboration with Genentech, Inc, a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY). With this collaboration Genentech will gain access to Graffinity’s proprietary, fragment-based drug discovery technology.
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2008-09-30, Innovationshighlight

High-precision machining for highly accurate micro objectives from Leica Microsystems

Successful cooperative networking enables the production of mounted lenses with an extremely high diameter and spacing accuracies.
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2008-01-06, Innovationshighlight

LUMOS – Air-based Monitoring System

A consortium of the Berlin KMU IQ Wireless, BLIC, Scandat and Teltec as well as the German Aerospace Centre and the Fhg institute FIRST responsible for research, has developed a new system for optical data entry of transportation and its processing in real-time including the supply of users with information.
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2010-12-30, Bekanntmachung

Announcement of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of regulations for the funding of research and development projects

in the area of "International Partnerships for Sustainable Technologies and Services for Climate Protection and the Environment" (CLIENT) under the "Research for Sustainable Development" framework programme
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2010-09-03, Patent

Method for isolation

A large part of gene regulation in eukaryotes takes place at the level of RNA-molecules. A group of endogenous regulatory RNA-molecules, the so-called microRNAs (miRNAs) appear to be involved in the regulation of about 30% of all human genes. These “small RNA” molecules (sRNA) also play a role in the development of diseases such as cancer, diabetes or neurological disorders. Disease-associated changes of miRNA expression patterns provide new prognostic and diagnostic opportunities and are qualified for the development of respective clinical markers.read more

2010-09-03, Patent

Device for Registering the Occupancy of Tracks in Railway Traffic

A very common method for determining the occupancy of a rail track are the so-called track circuits. This method involves applying a low voltage to a pair of rail tracks which are isolated from the rest of the network and monitoring whether the voltage is short-circuited by the wheels and axles of a passing train. Rust and dirt that may cover the rail surface over time can create significant problems. The present invention consists of a device that allows to break through the insulating surface and thus ensures reliable signalling. This is achieved by creating sparks between the carriage wheels and the rails. Advantages: no modifications required to the track network, can be implemented in cross border traffic, low costs, independent of the electricity network, etc. read more