The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft undertakes applied research of direct utility to private and public enterprise and of wide benefit to society. Its services are solicited by customer and contractual partners in industry, the service and public administration. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft maintains roughly 80 research units, including 58 Fraunhofer Institutes, at over 40 different locations throughout Germany. A staff of some 12,500, predominantly qualified scientists and engineers, work with an annual research budget of over one billion euros. Of this sum, more than € 900 million is generated through contract research. Roughly two thirds of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's contract research revenue is derived from contracts with industry and from publicly financed research projects. The remaining one third is contributed by the German federal and L?nder governments, partly as a means of enabling the institutes to pursue more fundamental research in areas that are likely to become relevant to industry and society in five or ten years' time.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is also active on an international level: Affiliated research centers and representative offices in Europe, the USA and Asia provide contact with the regions of greatest importance to present and future scientific progress and economic development.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has a distinctive profile within the German research environment. Research of practical utility remains the focal objective of all activities, whether these involve contract research, pre-competitive research, consulting services or studies. The majority of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's activities therefore take place in the middle ground between public sponsorship and free enterprise.

This specific orientation obliges the organization to develop the appropriate strategic objectives and organizational structures. The Guiding Principles document describes the fundamental features of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's corporate identity, and incorporates the Mission Statement which summarizes its objectives. The Statute provides a detailed definition of the tasks incumbent on the various organizational units and administrative bodies.

Our Services

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft sees itself as a service company, offering its scientific and technical expertise on the market for research and development services.

Research of practical utility

The key to business success lies in the ability to develop new ideas and rapidly transform them into marketable products. Accelerating the transfer of information and know-how is thus one of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's chief objectives. Companies of all sizes and in all sectors of industry make use of the Fraunhofer institutes as outsourced high-tech laboratories for all kinds of development projects, for specialized services and as skilled consultants on questions of organization and strategy. Professional project management and quality management processes lead to concrete solutions that produce valuable results in practice.
The formation of spin-off companies offers a direct route for know-how developed in the research laboratory to be applied in industrial practice. Our Venture Community provides such companies with information and support.

The benefits of contract research

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft develops products and processes right up to commercial maturity. Individual solutions are sought in direct contact with the customer. Extensive internal collaboration ensures that the customer can call on the specialized expertise of all of the Fraunhofer institutes when required. Common quality standards and a professional approach to project management guarantee reliable results.

The highly advanced equipment available in its laboratories makes the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft an attractive partner for companies of all sizes and in all branches of industry. As well as the reliability of a strongly cohesive research network, collaboration also brings economic benefits, for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's contribution to the partnership includes valuable knowledge acquired through cost-intensive preliminary research.

Historical Background

As it stands today, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has attained a size and influence that makes it an undisputedly vital element in Germany's industrial and scientific landscape. But the early years were far from easy. The research organization was founded in 1949, in the same year as the Federal Republic of Germany, and started out as a small office with just three employees. The original purpose of the non-profit organization was to distribute grants and donations for research of direct relevance to industry. The impressive march of progress as seen and experienced by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in its first 50 years is documented in a seven-part Chronicle.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft owes its name to Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787-1826), the successful Munich researcher, inventor and entrepreneur. The story of his life and works clearly indicates why he was chosen as the role model for our organization.

Joseph von Fraunhofer

The organization takes its name from Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787-1826), the illustrious Munich researcher, inventor and entrepreneur. Born of a family of modest means, Joseph von Fraunhofer was a glass-grinding apprentice when discovered by the privy counsellor Joseph von Utzschneider. He took up employ in the latter's Optical Institute and, at the age of 22, became the director of glass manufacturing. He was responsible for the development of new methods of glass production and processing.

The optical instruments he himself developed, including the spectrometer and the diffraction grid, allowed Fraunhofer to conduct fundamental research in the fields of light and optics. He was the first to measure the spectrum of sunlight and characterize the dark absorption strips it contains: the "Fraunhofer lines". His independent, autodidactic work won him great acclaim from industry and government. The former apprentice became a full member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.

Editor: Donald