“ORCHESTER”: A Fraunhofer Flagship Project

Due to crises such as the coronavirus pandemic or suspended trade agreements, supply bottlenecks occur time and again. Raw materials such as nickel, magnesium and rare earths, which industry needs to manufacture a wide range of products, are not always available - often for long periods of time. This is where “ORCHESTER,” a new flagship project of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, comes in: Since January 2024, six Fraunhofer Institutes have been researching how sustainable and resilient supplies can be designed and secured. The four-year interdisciplinary project aims to create the information basis for preserving materials and components in the highest possible quality and returning them to the supply cycle.

The ability to manufacture sustainable products plays a key role here: The basis for this are modern materials that are not only available as raw materials, but also need to be recycled in a high-quality form. Accompanied by a high-ranking advisory board from research and industry, the experts from the participating institutes are working together on an innovative initiative that addresses the challenges of the circular economy as well as security of supply — particularly in the context of the energy transition.

Secure material supply for the future

The new Fraunhofer flagship project aims to expand the range of usable materials, increase the proportion of recycled materials in the processes and reduce the use of rare earths in the primary supply chain in order to create a concept for crisis management. The aim is to achieve a paradigm shift in material specification away from a definition based on material composition towards a function-based specification — for faster substitution of critical materials and thus a more resilient material supply.

Three demonstrators for holistic effectiveness

The effectiveness of the project is illustrated by three demonstrators focusing on material specification, recycling and criticality:

• In the case of bipolar plates for electrolyzers and fuel cells or heat exchangers, for example, whose costs are largely determined by the nickel content — a critical element with a high supply risk — ways are being sought to reduce this content without compromising the essential functional properties of bipolar plates.
• Elsewhere, the aim is to maximize the secondary material content of the aluminium alloy in compressor wheels for hydrogen pipelines, fuel cells and heat pumps in order to minimize energy requirements. The project relies on experimental and simulation-based high-throughput screening methods to determine efficient alloy variants.
• The third demonstrator focuses on the recycling of permanent magnets for electric motors and wind turbines. Simulation models and machine learning are used to predict the influence of impurities on magnetic performance and to determine corresponding alloy windows.

“ORCHESTER” is not only a pioneering research project, but also an important step towards a sustainable and more future-proof material supply for the energy transition. Real added value can be created by improving the selection of usable materials, increasing the proportion of recycling in the process routes, shorter development times for alloys, fewer rare earths used in primary production and increased resilience. The project illustrates how digital innovations can help to overcome the challenges of a sustainable and resilient supply of functionally reliable materials. By combining research, technology and collaboration, we can set new standards for the future of industrial production with “ORCHESTER” and contribute significantly to the realization of a sustainable and viable economy.

The project consortium is coordinated by the Fraunhofer IWM and consists of:

Fraunhofer IWM, Fraunhofer IWU, Fraunhofer IWS, Fraunhofer ISI, Fraunhofer IWKS, Fraunhofer IZFP.

Consortium

Term: January 2024–December 2027