Rostock. Limited resources, labor shortages, increasing demands for food quality and environmental protection – today's agriculture faces significant challenges. New solutions are needed urgently. Seven Fraunhofer Institutes will be represented at a joint booth "Smart Farming: Efficiency meets Sustainability" at AGRITECHNICA 2025. They are presenting approaches for a sustainable agricultural economy. The participating institutes are the Fraunhofer Institutes for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP, for Computer Graphics Research IGD, for Integrated Circuits IIS, for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, for Electronic Microsystems and Solid State Technologies EMFT, for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB, and for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU.

The Fraunhofer IGP is part of the research initiative "Biogenic Value Creation and Smart Farming" (BWSF), a collaboration of interdisciplinary teams from the Fraunhofer Institutes IGP, IGD, IIS, IVV, and EMFT. The initiative focuses on application-oriented research in agriculture as well as the food industry. The goal ist to develop innovative technologies for sustainable and future-proof agriculture – from seeds to final products.

The Fraunhofer IGP will present two research innovations at the trade fair:

Rethinking Fertilizers

The number of approved chemical-synthetic fertilizers is decreasing, while the demand for environmentally friendly methods to increase crop yields and plant vitality is growing. The Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology e.V. (INP) has found a solution: plasma-treated water as plant fertilizer. In this process, nitrogen from the air, including nitrate, is bound in water through plasma treatment. The advantages of this fertilizer substitute include independence from supply chains for synthetic fertilizers, resource conservation, and sustainability in agriculture. Through collaboration with the Fraunhofer IGP, this process is being scaled from the current laboratory level to large-scale applications for agricultural operations. This way, farmers can produce their own fertilizer locally using electricity (solar energy, wind power, biogas), air, and water.

Surface Coating Through Thermal Spraying for a More Efficient Agriculture

Soil cultivation tools are constantly subjected to high stress. Therefore, wear protection is a key research focus in the agricultural sector to improve the lifespan of components. This is where the Fraunhofer IGP's solution comes in: To maintain the efficiency of components and to extend their lifespan, they are thermally coated with novel materials while avoiding critical substances. This involves melting a combination of various metals and metal alloys, which are then applied in layers to the components. Additionally, it is possible to incorporate a visually distinct wear indicator layer through differently colored coatings, allowing users to identify the optimal time for re-coating. The process ensures there is no mixing with the base material. This enables nearly any desired composition of coating thicknesses and qualities. With this technology, farmers and horticultural businesses can use their equipment more efficiently, economically, and sustainably.

Additionally, on Monday, November 10, at 10:30 AM (Hall 17), a technical lecture titled "Applications of Thermal Spraying in Agriculture | Thermal Spray Technology in Agriculture" will be delivered by Dr.-Ing. Andreas Gericke (Head of the "Manufacturing Technologies" Department). "Trade fairs like AGRITECHNICA are a great opportunity to showcase our solutions and connect with industry partners. We are very excited to be an active part of the fair for the first time this year," says Moritz Schröder (Project Manager "Smart Farming").

The BWSF research initiative contributes to advancing a sustainable and future-proof agricultural economy. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wilko Flügge, Director of the Fraunhofer IGP, states: "Given the growing challenges that agriculture will face in the future, it is extremely important to use the tools available to us – including sensor, automation, and digitization concepts – to find sustainable and efficient solutions now."