The Hunan Xiangjiang New Area recently announced that the Hunan-Fraunhofer Innovation Cooperation Matchmaking Conference will be held in Changsha on September 12. This event follows a visit in July this year, when a delegation of entrepreneurs from the Hunan Xiangjiang New Area traveled to Stuttgart, Aachen, and other innovation hubs in Germany to explore the keys to sustainable enterprise success. The upcoming matchmaking conference marks a reciprocal visit by top experts from Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, an application-oriented research organization in Germany, signifying a "two-way exchange" between Hunan and Germany that transcends geographical boundaries.
The event was jointly organized by the Hunan Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Management Committee of Hunan Xiangjiang New Area. Five representative research institutions from Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft—the Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA), the Institute for Non-Destructive Testing (IZFP), the Institute for Production Technology (IPT), the Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology (IGCV), and the Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF)—will showcase world-leading scientific and technological innovation concepts, technologies, and achievements. Experts will also engage in discussions with participating enterprises in areas such as intelligent manufacturing, non-destructive testing, and new materials.
Notably, during the matchmaking conference, the Hunan Defu Applied Science Research Center, established through a collaboration between German Industry 4.0 and Chinese intelligent manufacturing research institutions, will officially settle in Hunan Xiangjiang New Area. With a focus on "technological integration and industrial empowerment," the center will introduce Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's full-chain intelligent manufacturing research resources to advance cooperation in scientific and technological innovation, technology transfer, and talent cultivation tailored to Hunan's key industries, including new energy, construction machinery, new materials, and intelligent connected vehicles.
Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Munich, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is Germany and Europe's largest application-oriented research organization, comprising 75 institutes and approximately 30,000 employees. It is renowned for its "Fraunhofer model," which effectively bridges research and industry to drive technological innovation and implementation. The organization conducts research across multiple cutting-edge fields, holding over 7,000 valid patents. Many everyday technologies, such as MP3 audio compression, airbags, and white LED lights, originated from its institutes.
This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Kuang Zhenzhen
Chinese source: hunantoday
