The world needs answers to pressing questions: climate change, energy, health, nutrition, mobility – the current list of big issues is long. German engineers are highly regarded worldwide when it comes to finding innovative solutions. All over the world Germany stands for top-level research in environmental technology, biotechnology and medicine. In addition to the numerous German research institutions, which enjoy an excellent global reputation, many creative scientists in the private sector are also developing innovative and cutting-edge technologies. Over 12,500 registered patents at the European Patent Office in 2010 alone testify to the innovative strength of German companies. A total of approximately 299,000 scientists work in Germany’s public and private research laboratories. Research-intensive industries make an especially high contribution to total value added: nearly 15%. This puts Germany ahead of Japan and the USA.
Modern technologies are the key to mastering global challenges, which is why the Federal Government’s High-Tech Strategy aims to create the political and societal conditions that make important innovations possible. The strategy defines key future projects on which companies, universities and research institutions are already working intensively: efficient energy supplies; personalized medicine tailored more specifically to the patient’s needs; technologies that promote independent living in old age; and the target of having a million electric cars on Germany’s roads by 2020. The following pages introduce six areas of technology from a huge number of research fields that demonstrate the broad range of innovation in Germany: vehicle and traffic technology, medical technology, mechanical engineering, environmental technologies, nanotechnology and bionics. New developments in these fields have the potential to improve our lives decisively in the coming years.///
Environmental Technology
FOCUS ON WATER AND ENERGY
Energy and water are both resources that will become increasingly precious in the future. However, successful environmental technologies have to take three aspects into account: scarce resources, climate change and global population growth. Electricity from wind, the sun or biomass, sustainable water technology and fully automated recycling systems are already helping people to meet the global challenges. Germany is the lead market for environmentally friendly technologies and their biggest exporter – with a market share of 16%.
The energy revolution is making Germany a role model in power generation from renewable energy sources like wind, solar and biomass. For example, huge wind farms which will replace the output of several nuclear power stations will be built off the coasts of northern Europe in the next few years. German companies are supplying the necessary equipment. In the future, renewable primary products will also serve as fuels and energy sources for renewable power generation. Furthermore, special solar cells developed by Fraunhofer researchers generate solar power particularly efficiently. However, wind and sunshine are not always consistently available. Renewable energies must therefore be efficiently interconnected by what are known as smart grids. The big German utilities and microchip manufacturers like Infineon are offering solutions in this field, too.
Conventional power plants are also set to become more environment- and climate-friendly: carbon capture, for example, could reduce emissions from coal-fired power stations. This technology is being developed by the Linde group together with RWE and BASF. The carbon dioxide produced in this way could, for example, be used as a basis for synthetic materials, as shown by the Dream Production project, in which Bayer AG is involved. The world’s most efficient fossil fuel-fired power plant in Irsching near Ingolstadt went on stream in 2011. The combined gas and steam power plant, which was originally built by Siemens, operates at an efficiency of over 60%.
German companies are also world leaders in sustainable water technologies, achieving a market share of 19%. There is great demand for sewage- and water-treatment technologies, especially in the emerging and developing countries. Water scarcity and the need to provide megacities with reliable water supplies require innovative systems for drinking-water production and distribution – like those offered by Siemens, for example. Germany is also a pioneer in recycling: highly automated recycling plants help to conserve resources and to use waste as a source of raw materials.///
Mechanical Engineering
RESOURCE-EFFICIENT PRODUCTION
Mechanical engineering plays a key role in the German economy. The industry’s engineers build machinery for all sectors – from A for agriculture to Z for zero-emission vehicles – making them highly sought-after trading partners worldwide. German mechanical engineering companies employ some 920,000 people, and in 2010 generated nearly 75% of their income abroad. Resource efficiency in production is a key objective of many engineering companies, which include not only many privately owned small and medium-sized companies, but also stock-exchange-listed giants like ThyssenKrupp, Gildemeister and Gea.
Making machines and plants more efficient can protect the environment and reduce energy costs, because growth no longer automatically leads to higher energy consumption. This requires
optimal interaction between mechanical and electronic components – a field known as “mechatronics”. The technology sector is becoming more and more important for machines in all sectors – be it steel processing or food processing. Automation and robotics also make production more efficient. Modern production and process engineering in the automotive and chemical industries, for example, work today with highly intelligent image-recognition systems. And engineers use computer simulations to plan complex production processes for engines, gear shafts and turbine blades in a particularly efficient way. New processes are required for the serial production of automotive components made of novel materials such as carbon fibres and they are being developed by German companies, for example, SGL Carbon. German engineers are also designing efficient plants for manufacturing electric motors and batteries – to expand electric mobility.
The demand for energy sources and precious metals is also reflected in the developments made by mechanical engineers. For example, in future new gas-drilling ships are expected to be able to exploit even remote gas resources on the seabed. Intelligent transportation systems and sensor-controlled mining machines are increasing productivity underground. Even tractors and harvesting machines are getting smarter: equipped with sensors and GPS navigation systems, they can be steered with extreme precision and deliver fertilizer exactly where it’s needed – without a driver. High-tech combine harvesters can bring in up to 70 tonnes of grain an hour. Technology is thus also helping to secure the world’s growing food needs.///
Vehicle and Traffic Technology
LIGHTER, MORE EFFICIENT, ELECTRIC
Mobility means freedom, whether you’re in a car, a train or a plane. But climate protection, traffic management in megacities and rising demands on safety and comfort will decisively shape vehicle and traffic technology in the coming years.
In the long run, electric motors will replace petrol and diesel engines. All German vehicle manufacturers are already developing hybrid engines or battery-electric vehicles. Mercedes is also forging ahead with fuel-cell technology, and intends to mass-produce hydrogen cars as early as 2014. As petrol and diesel engines will continue to play an important role for a long time yet, they must become more efficient. German carmakers are particularly well-known for fuel-efficient diesel technology. And by downsizing the engines they can get more power out of less cubic capacity. Moreover, lightweight construction using composite materials makes further fuel savings possible. BMW is planning to build the first mass-produced electric car: the i3. It will be made mostly of lightweight carbon fibre instead of steel.
Cars are already full of microchip technology – from electric parking sensors to engine control units. And the world’s second-largest manufacturer of automotive semiconductor technology is Infineon from Germany. With sensors and chips you can make intelligent driver-assistance systems which make driving safer and easier: test vehicles are already driving on highways completely independently. In an emergency the systems can fully automatically slow the car down, direct it to the emergency lane, park it and send out an emergency call.
The main aim in rail transport is to reduce emissions by making propulsion systems more efficient. As in cars, hybrid technology and regenerative braking can reduce the fuel consumption of diesel locomotives. And in the future, modern high-speed trains will make it possible to cover long distances in a more environmentally friendly way. Fast train connections between metropolitan regions, and short-distance rail traffic can ease the pressure on the roads in urban areas. In air transport, lighter but high-strength materials and more fuel-efficient engines help conserve the environment and reduce costs. Biokerosene made from algae or vegetable oil could replace fossil fuels. And Solar Impulse, the first aircraft to fly by solar energy alone, both day and night, has already taken off – with the participation of German industrial companies.///
Medical Technology
INNOVATION IN THE OPERATING THEATRE
Minimally invasive high-tech medicine in the operating theatre, molecular imaging, intelligent prostheses and artificial coronary blood vessels – innovations in medical technology are constantly being refined and miniaturized and the German medical technology market just keeps on growing. Germany is the largest market in Europe and the third-largest worldwide. The industry is well positioned and internationally competitive with exports accounting for more than 60% of turnover. Demand for modern medical methods and devices is rising, especially in the emerging countries of Asia and Latin America.
The medical technology sector is largely made up of small and medium-sized private companies. Thanks to close collaboration with medical practitioners and hospitals, it offers a broad diversity of products that are exactly tailored to the needs of physicians and patients – from the fully automatic operating table to high-tech surgical instruments, respirators, anaesthetic devices and software. 3D-ultrasound diagnostics, for example, can generate real-time images from the inside of a beating heart, and new minimally invasive high-tech medicine can give patients quick, gentle and painless treatment. Innovative navigation systems support ENT specialists, oral and brain surgeons as well as specialists in other medical fields. They bring all the important information together on a central screen and, for example, help doctors avoid making wrong incisions during surgery. Intelligent cochlear implants support deaf people, and the selective stimulation of nerve cells is increasingly becoming established in the treatment of people with Parkinson’s disease.
IT information and communication is on the advance not only in hospitals but also in patient care. Diabetes patients, for example, can now use their smartphone or iPad to send their blood-sugar data to their family doctor. Other apps help with visual and hearing tests or examining moles on the skin. Age-appropriate assistance systems aim to enable older people to live independent lives for longer and to stay healthy, safe and mobile. Relatively short innovation cycles will support growth in medical engineering: German manufacturers generate about a third of their turnover with products that are no more than three years old. The revolution in medical technology has just begun. Human skin from the tissue factory, artificial blood vessels and re-growing heart valves are no longer a distant vision.///
Nanotechnology
MINI PACEMAKER
The dimensions are tiny, the potential is huge: nanotechnology structures measure only a few millionths of a millimetre across. However, the properties of materials – such as their melting point or solubility – change significantly on the nanometre scale. German engineers and scientists who apply this knowledge are innovative pacesetters in many industries: optics, electronics and structural engineering, medicine, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and textiles, mechanical and safety engineering, environmental technology and biotechnology. Germany occupies third place worldwide in this young technology – after the USA and Japan. Some 950 German companies – including many small and medium-sized start-ups – focus on making a great variety of nanoproducts.
Nanotechnology is used in modern building technology, for example: nanomaterials on the glazed surfaces of solar modules allow more sunlight to be used. Researchers at the RWTH University Aachen are working on nanoparticles that enable a new form of molecular imaging for tailor-made therapies and the individual diagnosis of conditions such as Alzheimer’s. Cancer treatments using nanoparticles have had initial success in clinical trials in collaboration with the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. And technical medical aids such as catheters can be made more hygienic with nanocoatings.
In crop protection, active substances – packaged in nanocapsules – can be used in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way because the agents can be transported more precisely to their targeted site of action. Electric mobility, too, is focusing on nanotechnology: not only researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are working on special nanomaterials which, for example, prolong the working lives and storage capacity of electric vehicle batteries. The tiny particles can also make it possible to print wafer-thin circuits on foil, thus making displays even flatter. Nanomaterials also help protect against plagiarism: marking systems based on nano or nanobiotechnological materials are used to prevent the counterfeiting of medicines or automotive and aircraft parts.
The safety of nanomaterials is the subject of intensive testing in Germany. Studies are examining the effects on humans and the environment, and research on potential risks is ongoing. For example, the Federal Government has presented its Nanotechnology 2015 action plan, a strategy for using nanotechnology without endangering humans or the environment.///
Bionics
LEARNING FROM NATURE
Nature is a huge experimental laboratory. Millions of years of evolution have led to solutions that enable organisms to live. Today’s scientists and engineers are benefiting from this developmental achievement. Bionics is the discipline that combines biology and technology. And German engineers are leaders in the development of bionic applications.
One example is the climbing robots that can walk up smooth glass façades like geckos, using a special micro-patterned tape on their feet. There are also beetles that can see infrared light and form the model for possible infrared sensors in fire alarms. Shark skin has inspired researchers at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) to imitate its “riblet” surface: the low level of drag of this surface reduces an aircraft’s or ship’s friction in the air or in water. And an elephant’s trunk was the model for the robot arm developed by the Festo company in collaboration with Fraunhofer researchers. The special feature is that the top of the trunk-like robot consists of sensitive gripper fingers with which it can hold even fragile items.
At Ilmenau Technical University researchers are developing a bedding sheet for bedridden patients, which can feel like human skin. It uses sensors to feel how well the patient’s real skin is being supplied with blood. If there is a risk of bedsores, the sheet itself reactivates the patient’s circulation by making specific movements.///
