ORCHESTER

The Fraunhofer flagship project ORCHESTER addresses the challenges of the circular economy and security of supply, in particular with functionally reliable materials for the energy transition along the entire value chain. 

The aims of the lead project are:

• to quintuple the range of materials that can be used,
• increase the proportion of recycled materials in process routes by 50 percent through methods for dealing with impurities in secondary metals and
• reduce the proportion of raw materials from primary production by at least 25 percent by substituting the proportion and origin of rare earths. 

The aim is to achieve a paradigm shift in material specification away from a definition based on material composition towards a function-based specification that enables faster substitution of critical materials and thus a more resilient material supply.

This will be shown using three demonstrators with a focus on material specification, recycling and criticality:

1. Bipolar plates for electrolyzers and fuel cells or heat exchangers
2. Compressor wheels for hydrogen pipelines, fuel cells and heat pumps
3. Recycling and reuse of permanent magnets for electric motors and wind turbines

ORCHESTER uses the knowledge and experience from existing initiatives and funding projects such as Gaia-X to build the digital ecosystem.

Behind ORCHESTER is a highly motivated and internationally recognized project team that is working on an ambitious solution with a great deal of passion and creativity. The following diagram illustrates the complementarity of the competencies and roles of the six Fraunhofer Institutes involved along the value chain.

At its core, the Fraunhofer IWM stands for the digitally supported evaluation of the safety and reliability of materials and components during their use and along process chains. The Fraunhofer IWM is also the consortium leader in this lead project.

The Fraunhofer ISI researches the development of innovation processes and their social impact. Its experience in the areas of material flow modeling and sustainability assessment, including social aspects, is also of great importance for the ORCHESTER flagship project.

Fraunhofer IWKS has extensive expertise in holistic approaches to closing material cycles. With its pilot plant, Fraunhofer IWKS is the only institute within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft that can map the entire production and recycling process.

The Fraunhofer IWS develops complex system solutions in laser, surface and materials technology. The Fraunhofer IWS uses additive manufacturing as a screening method for sustainable material design in conjunction with high-throughput processes.

The activities of the Fraunhofer IZFP concentrate on the development of intelligent sensor and data systems for material and process analysis. The focus is on researching and implementing digitalization in nondestructive testing.

Fraunhofer IWU is the driving force in the research and development of production technology for “green” products in flexible material flows. Fraunhofer IWU is also involved in numerous activities in the field of Industry 4.0.

 

Added value

• Improved selection of usable materials
• Increase in the proportion of recycling in process routes
• Shorter development time for alloys
• Fewer rare earths from primary production
• Increased resilience

 

Key data on the project

• Duration: January 2024 - December 2027
• Project partner:
  • Fraunhofer IWM (coordination)
  • Fraunhofer IWU
  • Fraunhofer IWS
  • Fraunhofer ISI
  • Fraunhofer IWKS
  • Fraunhofer IZFP