About
The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML is considered the leading authority in holistic logistics research and works in all fields of internal and external logistics. In line with the Fraunhofer concept, the institute develops solutions that can be used immediately by companies, while also conducting preliminary research with a time horizon of two to five years, or longer in individual cases. Founded in 1981, the institute currently employs around 450 scientific staff as well as administrative and workshop personnel, supported by numerous student and research assistants.
Interdisciplinary teams assembled according to project and customer requirements create cross-industry and customer-specific solutions in areas such as material flow technology, business process modeling, transportation systems, and resource logistics. Other current research focuses include artificial intelligence and smart robotics, smart finance, supply chain resilience, and the sustainable transformation of logistics. For interdisciplinary projects, the institute can draw on a total of 32,000 employees in 76 institutions throughout the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The office of the Fraunhofer Transport Alliance, in which 23 Fraunhofer institutes and institutions pool their transport-related expertise, is also located in Dortmund.
In addition, Fraunhofer IML is a key supporter of the Digital Hub Logistics, which provides start-up initiatives with space to develop digital products and business models. The institute is also the initiator of the non-profit Open Logistics Foundation, which promotes open source applications in logistics, and is part of the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, which receives ongoing funding as part of the German government's AI strategy. The three institute directors, who all hold chairs at the Technical University of Dortmund, also maintain a wide range of research collaborations in the field of basic research. In addition to Dortmund, the institute has locations in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Prien, and Shanghai.
KEY THEMATIC AREAS
Sustainable advanced materials, raw materials and chemicalsFast-tracking circularity in manufacturing, advanced materials and process industryClean technologies, including carbon capture and usageTechnology infrastructure, knowledge valorisation and support for scaleups and startupsInnovative Advanced Materials-based Technologies
TYPE OF RESEARCH AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
Applied research, product/process development and demonstrationBusiness-2-Business servicesBusiness models and exploitation strategiesDissemination and Communication