The new division is located on the Potsdam-Golm Science Campus and currently employs over 90 scientists, engineers and technicians. This link has boosted Fraunhofer IZI's existing infrastructure with an extra approx. 4,000 m² of laboratory space, a technical centre and a modern equipment pool.

With the Potsdam division, the range of services offered by the Fraunhofer IZI now covers the fields of bioproduction, bioanalysis and process engineering. Existing specialist fields such as cellular biotechnology, nanotechnology and biomarker development are set to be strengthened. This consolidation will give rise to numerous synergies at both sites in the future. "We are going to particularly focus on combining the technical skills in Potsdam with the cell biology expertise in Leipzig, which will be especially useful in developing the area of process automation," emphasises Professor Frank Emmrich, Institute Director at the Fraunhofer IZI. The concept is receiving long term support from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's Executive Board.

Professor Ulrich Buller, former Director of Research Planning at the Fraunhofer- Gesellschaft, is taking on the management of the Potsdam division. "We aim to interweave the competencies available at both sites and to align the organisational structures. The resulting synergies will be fully exploited in the years to come, enabling us to offer cooperation opportunities and competitive system solutions to our partners from the pharmaceutical, biotechnological and medical engineering industries."