Since August 27, 2024, the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research GmbH has officially had a new name: Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials GmbH – a significant step that reflects the change in the institute’s research. We, the Wissensregion Düsseldorf, would like to congratulate the institute on this important milestone.
The renaming represents a strategic reorientation: in future, the institute will increasingly research how materials can be produced in a climate-friendly way, used sustainably and recycled efficiently. The focus will also be on which new or adapted materials will be needed in future to meet the major challenges of a sustainable value chain and how these can be made suitable for use. This research is of central importance, as around 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the production of materials that people need for buildings, infrastructure and products of all kinds. The steel industry, non-ferrous metals industry and cement industry in particular contribute significantly to global CO2 emissions, and this is precisely where the Institute’s work comes in.
The team at the Max Planck Institute is primarily looking for completely new ways of using hydrogen to produceCO2-free iron from aluminum production waste in an economical process. The aim is to create a more sustainable industrial basis while minimizing the impact on the environment.
“Metals and other materials are the backbone of our modern society,” explains Managing Director Prof. Dr. Dierk Raabe. “Our research aims to significantly reduce the ecological footprint of material production.”
With this reorientation, the Max Planck Society is once again demonstrating its willingness to find answers to the urgent challenges of our time through basic research.
We are excited about the upcoming projects and look forward to working with our “new old” member institute in the future.
