inno.zellmet - A Concerted Approach towards the Application of Non-Foam Type Cellular Metals

Abstract

inno.zellmet is a large funded project which aims at the commercialisation of new, non-foam types of cellular metals. The project focuses on porous structures made from metallic short fibers and structures made from metallic hollow spheres, which are both chararacterised by multifunctionality and low specific weight. Six research institutes and 17 partners from industry constitute a local network that jointly develops solutions based on these "constructed materials". Target applications are situated in industrial sectors such as light-weight construction, decentralised energy generation, medical and biotechnology, as well as sound absorption and explosion protection for stationary machinery. inno.zellmet has started in March 2005 and will run for 3 years. During this time, it receives 3.9 Mio. EUR in funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under the "Unternehmen Region" initiative. This paper highlights some of the results obtained so far.