The Institute

Special Chemicals

We develop tailored solid and liquid additives based on polymers to create products with the desired characteristics, or to simplify production processes. The scientific knowledge and practical experience of our staff guarantee that ideas are turned into market-ready products quickly.

Materials Development

Our customers need materials for their products and production methods with performance characteristics that have never been achieved before. We work to create natural and synthetic polymers that satisfy these ever-growing demands - to craft end products that are longer-lasting, more acid-resistant, more temperature-resistant, easier to look after, better for one's health, more environmentally friendly, better value, and that can be produced more easily and using less energy. We also ensure that the processes developed will work not just at laboratory scale, but in industrial production as well.

Cellulose

With 1.5 trillion tonnes of cellulose being formed every year, cellulose is the most important renewable resource on the planet. Fraunhofer IAP is one of the world's leading research institutes in the development, characterisation and analysis of cellulose materials. Some of the most important secrets of our success are the close cooperation between chemists, physicists and engineers and the state-of-the-art equipment in our research laboratories.

Functional Polymer Systems

Specialised polymers have become irreplaceable high-tech plastics in many applications in electrical engineering, electronics, the automotive industry, medical technology and, recently, in pharmacy. With these functional polymers, one single new, beneficial property can determine whether an entire key technology functions in practice. From organic LEDS for flat screens to drug delivery systems based on polymer nanoparticles - we work hand in hand with the users of our polymers to develop the best material possible.