Nominees for prestigious technology prize
Three teams of researchers have been nominated for the Deutscher Zukunftspreis.
The researchers and developers nominated for the German president’s award for innovation in science and technology have devised innovative solutions for new building materials, a process that can contribute to environmental and climate protection and a technology that increases safety and comfort. Here they are in greater detail:
The team at the Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) working on the Carbon Concrete project has taken an innovative concrete-composite material from the basic research stage to the largest development and application network of the German construction industry. The new material could increasingly replace steel-reinforced concrete, which is currently the most important building material. It prolongs the useful lifetime of concrete buildings, reduces maintenance costs – and also results in lower consumption of resources and a decrease in CO2 emissions.
A team from Daimler AG, Ulm, and Gebrüder Heller Maschinenfabrik GmbH, Nürtingen, working on Frictionless Drive Systems have developed a process that coats the piston and cylinder liner system of an internal combustion engine with a layer of very robust, low-friction material. This cuts energy losses inside the engine, reduces the fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions of petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles – and can therefore make an important contribution in the road transport sector towards saving resources and protecting our climate.
A team from Osram GmbH, Munich, and the BMW Group, Munich, have made progress in the Laser Light in Cars project. It has opened the door to a new kind of full-beam vehicle headlight that emits sharply focused and intense white laser light. The ultrabright headlights, for which the nominated researchers have developed the world’s first system for producing white laser light, significantly broadens a car driver’s field of view in the dark, thereby increasing road safety.
Presentation of the Deutscher Zukunftspreis on 30 November 2016 in Berlin
