From idea to transfer
BMWK SME Innovation Day 2023
How do SMEs make themselves strong for a sustainably successful future? This question will be the focus of the Innovation Day on 15 June 2023. The Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck will exchange views with SMEs and research institutions on the innovative strength and wealth of ideas of German SMEs. The STFI will present itself with successful research examples from textile lightweight engineering and UV laser exposure.
From the VliesSMC project, the STFI will show a demonstrator, which is the sidewall structure of a traction battery for electromobility in fibre composite construction. The sidewall structure serves as a technology demonstrator and is made entirely of the VliesSMC material developed in the project. Due to the complexity of the demonstrator with thickness gradients, rib structures, thickenings and metallic inserts, the wide-ranging applicability of the SMC semi-finished product could be demonstrated. In addition, the demonstrator proves that the very high flowability of the recyclate-based SMC semi-finished product aimed for in the project was achieved.
In the GRO-COCE project, STFI developed hemp fibre-reinforced, high-performance and resource-efficient wood-concrete composite floor slabs. High-performance hemp fibres are obtained from peeled unroasted hemp and, due to their high modulus of elasticity, have the potential for various high-performance applications, e.g. in the construction sector and in the field of natural fibre plastics. At the stand, the STFI and its project partner Holzbau Meyer, Stollberg, will present a wooden beam that has been reinforced in the tensile zone with a new generation of high-performance hemp fibres, so that it can absorb up to 20% higher forces in the four-point bending tensile test than the non-reinforced wooden beam. Wood/concrete composite floors can thus be built with larger spans than was previously possible.
The UV laser exposure example demonstrates a design study for a room decor element. The design was digitally exposed via cyanotype colouring using UV laser radiation. Due to the special properties of the laser radiation, it was thus possible to create a unique pattern that has no raport. Due to the punctual exposure to a very small irradiation spot, it was possible to develop a design production within the project that is hardly visible to the eye. Cyanotype dyeing additionally represents an environmentally friendly textile functionalisation method, which emphasises the sustainability character of the results of this new dyeing process.
The BMWK's Innovation Day for SMEs will take place in Berlin on Thursday, 15 June 2023.
The stage programme will be broadcast as a live stream from 10 am.
Our team on site is looking forward to exciting discussions with representatives from politics, funding bodies, companies and research institutions.