KIT is known for repeatedly bringing innovative technologies to HANNOVER MESSE that offer solutions in fields such as the energy revolution, e-mobility and material sciences. "The corresponding innovative technologies can only be developed in close cooperation between science and industry," says the Institute’s President, Professor Holger Hanselka. He emphasizes the importance of HANNOVER MESSE in this respect: "For this reason, we have further increased our traditionally strong commitment at Hannover Messe. Apart from exhibiting in 'Research & Technology' and at other themed stands, for the first time we also have a stand at the 'Energy' lead trade fair.” What's more, Federal Minister of Research Johanna Wanka is scheduled to visit KIT's stand there on the first day.

At its main stand in Hall 2 in the "Research and Technology" lead trade fair, the Institute is showcasing a real revolution in glass manufacturing with its Liquid Glass project. One of the most important and fascinating materials known to man, glass surrounds us wherever we look in our everyday lives. Its outstanding optical, chemical, and thermal properties also make glass an attractive material for manufacturing tiny components. For example, it is used for minute optical lenses or complex microsystems such as laboratories on chips for analyzing minuscule liquid volumes. High temperatures and hazardous chemicals were previously required to produce these kinds of microstructures, but the scientists at KIT have now developed a simple alternative they call Liquid Glass. The base material used for the process is a nanocomposite, a mixture of pulverized glass and plastic that can be processed like a synthetic material. KIT's innovative Liquid Glass is viscous at room temperature and can be shaped into any form before being pre-cured under light and baked out in a furnace. You could well say this makes structuring glass components a "piece of cake"!

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