Feasibility study
Go or no-go — backed by data.
The fastest entry point with a clear result: quantitative data on density, microstructure and process window — at the system or as a benchmark campaign in the test centre.
From the lab to series production
One of the most powerful FAST/SPS systems in Europe.
Components up to Ø 450 mm from a single cycle. Materials that conventional sintering processes cannot produce at this speed and quality. We produce them — industry-relevant, series-capable, sustainable.
Field Assisted Sintering Technology
Spark Plasma Sintering
field-assisted direct sintering process
State of the art: samples up to Ø 100 mm for analysis.
Our everyday work: components up to Ø 450 mm — for real-world testing.
System Telemetry
Large-format sintering.
ACTIVE
Component size
Ø 450mm
Pressing force
5,000kN
Availability
24/7operation
Vacuum / inert gas
pyrometer-controlled
Ti Titanium-64 · industry-relevant
B₄C Boron carbide · lightest armour ceramic
Al₂O₃+SiC Armour
MgAl₂O₄ Spinel · transparent armour
Ti-TiB₂ FGM · graded armour plate
ZrB₂ UHTC · hypersonic leading edge
HfB₂ UHTC · melting point > 3,000 °C
Ti Titanium-64 · industry-relevant
B₄C Boron carbide · lightest armour ceramic
Al₂O₃+SiC Armour
MgAl₂O₄ Spinel · transparent armour
Ti-TiB₂ FGM · graded armour plate
ZrB₂ UHTC · hypersonic leading edge
HfB₂ UHTC · melting point > 3,000 °C
W-Ni-Fe Heavy metal · ultrafine-grained
γ-TiAl Titanium aluminide
SiC Silicon carbide · C/SiC brakes
Si₃N₄ Silicon nitride · cutting tools
B₄C–TiB₂–SiC Composite · cutting materials
BMG Metallic glasses
AMC Aluminium-matrix composite
CMC Ceramic-matrix composite
W-Ni-Fe Heavy metal · ultrafine-grained
γ-TiAl Titanium aluminide
SiC Silicon carbide · C/SiC brakes
Si₃N₄ Silicon nitride · cutting tools
B₄C–TiB₂–SiC Composite · cutting materials
BMG Metallic glasses
AMC Aluminium-matrix composite
CMC Ceramic-matrix composite
From powder to component —
in minutes.
Electric current passes directly through powder and tooling — Joule heating at up to 1,000 K/min. Near-theoretical density, in a fraction of the time of conventional processes. This is FAST/SPS sintering technology.
Conductive heating of the components arises only where it is needed — no furnace atmosphere heating along. This keeps cycles short and grains fine: nanostructures stay nano, gradients and substrate-bonded composites form in a single step. Sintering takes place under vacuum or inert gas, pyrometer-controlled — and every batch is fully logged: temperature, force, displacement. Reproducible from the first sample to series production, at around 40% less energy than conventional hot pressing.
Phase
01 · Powder
Rel. density
52%
Scroll
↓
01 · Powder
02 · Pressure · 03 · Heating
04 · Component
Step 01
Powder — loose or pre-pressed
Metal or ceramic powder is placed directly into the die — graphite, steel or TZM — as a loose fill or a cold pre-pressed green compact. Optionally directly onto a substrate: sinter-bonding eliminates the separate joining step.
··· ··· ···
Step 02
Build pressure, evacuate air
The punches close, the chamber is evacuated and, if required, purged with inert gas. Axial pressure creates contact points — the bridges through which conductive heating takes place.
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Step 03 · Core
Current heats from within
Current flows directly through tooling and powder: Joule heat arises exactly where densification happens — at up to 1,000 K/min. No furnace heats along, the microstructure stays precisely controlled, nanostructures stay nano. Pyrometers regulate the temperature to the point.
⚡ ⚡ ⚡
Step 04
Remove component — near-net-shape
After minutes instead of hours: near-theoretical density, minimal rework. Every batch fully documented — temperature, force, displacement — and therefore reproducible, from the first sample to low-volume series.
▰▰▰▰▰
Four sintering processes. One profile stands out.
Heating rate · what the process allows
FAST/SPS
5 – 1,000 K/min
Hot pressing
5 – 20 K/min
Pressureless sintering
2 – 10 K/min
Hot isostatic pressing
2 – 10 K/min
FAST/SPS · microstructure
Deliberately adjustable: through controlled heat input and extraction and short dwell times, the microstructure stays fine-grained — down to the nanoscale. Gradients and composites form in a single step.
Hot pressing · pressureless sintering · HIP
Inhomogeneous temperature distribution, long dwell times at high temperature — this promotes grain growth and unwanted precipitates, up to embrittlement. Slow heating and cooling ramps lengthen the process time considerably.
The honest assessment: conventionally, two challenges have limited FAST/SPS — component size and the transition to series production. These are exactly the two we address: large formats up to Ø 450 mm — and scaling into series production together with the equipment manufacturer, building on shared preliminary results.
Your own powder, your own project idea?
Test feasibility →Four materials classes.
One key competence.
From metal to metallic glass — we process the full spectrum. And we master what few others can: joining dissimilar materials.
The full spectrum · four materials classes
Metals
High-performance alloys based on titanium, aluminium, magnesium, steel and nickel. Focus: secondary raw materials.
Ti
Al
Mg
Fe
Ni
Ceramics
Oxide and non-oxide high-performance ceramics — processed into cutting tools, ballistic protective ceramics, friction rings and high-temperature functional materials.
Si₃N₄
Al₂O₃
B₄C
TiB₂
SiC
Composites
Ceramic-matrix (CMC) and metal-matrix composites (MMC). Examples: AMC brake discs with SiC reinforcement, Ti-MMC protective plates, C/SiC plates.
CMC
MMC
AMC
Special materials
High-entropy alloys, nickel- and cobalt-based superalloys, metallic glasses. Materials classes where FAST/SPS reveals its distinctive profile — microstructures not accessible by other means.
HEA
Superalloy
BMG
Key competence
Diffusion bonding of dissimilar materials.
We join materials that cannot be bonded by conventional melt-based methods — solely through the control of pressure, temperature and time. In a single pressing step. No solder, no filler material, with full-area bonding across the defined diffusion zone. A capability few laboratories command in this form.
From idea to series production.
Joint development
From demonstrator to validated process.
Joint development through to a functional component — bilateral and confidential. Or with strategic depth: as a publicly funded collaborative project or framework agreement with reserved capacity on the 24/7 system.
Transfer & implementation
Series production — on your site.
We support the technology transfer into your production: piloting, operator training on your own system — through to running series operation.
Our main research
fields.
Three fields in which we advance under our own steam — with systems, equipment and the combined expertise of founders and core team, who have worked together here for years. We have researched sustainable brakes for over 15 years, the other fields for around two — both began before the institute was founded. You can plug in at any time: as a collaborative project or framework agreement, via the programme.
Focus area
Sustainable brakes
“Three material systems.
Validated to OEM-approval level.”
AMC, MMC sandwich and C/SiC — developed and manufactured via FAST/SPS. With our own brake test centre (three flywheel dynamometers, Euro 7, real-world driving, climate/corrosion). Several solutions already in the pilot phase with Tier-1 partners.
Advanced pilot phase In detail on this page ↓Cycle of critical raw materials
“Titanium-64 and superalloys —
from secondary raw materials, industry-grade.”
High-performance materials from German secondary sources: Titanium-64 and nickel-, cobalt- and iron-based superalloys — from Inconel 718 to Hastelloy. Consolidated via FAST/SPS into series-relevant components, keeping the critical elements nickel and cobalt in the loop.
Joint development Request a circularity discussion →Protective materials
“Our own Ti-ceramic composites.
Designed for STANAG 4569 and VPAM.”
Titanium-ceramic composites — a titanium matrix with a ceramic hard phase, manufactured via FAST/SPS in a single cycle, designed for protection levels up to 6+ per NATO STANAG 4569 and for VPAM up to class 14.
FMP in-house development Protective-materials consortium →Three material systems.
One sustainable brake.
Three material systems with strong implementation potential and a clear sustainability advantage. They share one thing: manufacture via FAST/SPS and end-to-end validation to OEM-approval level. We research these with our own resources — the brake materials for over 15 years.
AMC
Aluminium-matrix composite
An aluminium matrix with embedded hard particles, densified by powder metallurgy. Almost wear-free, noticeably more corrosion-resistant than conventional cast-iron discs. Focus: rear-axle applications.
MMC-Sandwich
Steel sheets on aluminium or cast iron
A substrate of 100% recycled aluminium or cast iron, diffusion-bonded steel sheets — coated or uncoated. In a single process step. Focus: front-axle applications, commercial vehicles.
C/SiC
Ceramic-matrix friction rings
Carbon-fibre-reinforced silicon carbide for the highest thermomechanical loads — extremely light, with very low fine-dust generation. On small samples the FAST/SPS route shows strong potential over conventional liquid-silicon infiltration; we are actively developing the transition to series-capable friction rings. Focus: premium and high-performance segment.
Brake test centre — a complete validation chain.
Entirely in-house.
From the flywheel dynamometer through Euro-7 brake-dust measurements to vehicle testing: every stage under one roof, operated by FMP — synchronised, documented, approval-ready. The complete chain without interface losses: one point of contact, one data room, one report. As a concrete commission: your brake disc against a defined reference — performance and functional testing, brake-dust measurement, optionally extended by climate and corrosion testing, documented to OEM-approval level.
Flywheel dynamometers
- 3× Schenck · identically configured
- 265 kW · 5,000 Nm · 2,400 rpm
- ProLink control · fully automated
- 24/7 test operation
Euro-7 brake-dust station
- Per UN GTR No. 24
- PM₁₀ / PM₂.₅ gravimetric
- PN — particle number
- Real-time sync with dynamometer
Real-world driving tests
- Dedicated test vehicle
- Brake-dust measurement under real conditions
- GPS corridor · reproducible
- BEV/ICEV comparison in the same vehicle
Climate, corrosion & ageing
- Salt spray DIN EN ISO 9227
- Climatic cycling
- Mech. test rig −20 °C to +120 °C
Standards coverage & approvals · OEM and Tier-1 to Tier-3
Validations per UN GTR No. 24, ECE R90/R13/R13H, SAE J2522 (AK-Master), AMS Fade. Approval-ready at every tier of the supply chain — OEM, Tier-1, Tier-2/3.
3
Senior engineers lead the test centre.
With decades of OEM experience in the premium segment. We have worked on both sides of the specification — OEM and supplier alike: standards, approval procedures, series processes, R&D of new brake concepts.
Contract test campaigns
More than a measurement log.
Three flywheel dynamometers, Euro-7 dust measurement, ageing furnace, climate and corrosion chamber — available on a contract basis. You receive not a column of numbers but findings and interpretation: investigation, report, concrete recommendations for further development. Because we know both sides — test bench and R&D: thermal design, tribology, long-term behaviour, approval.
Process and series approval from a single source
Hard turning instead of grinding.
EHLA hard-coated cast-iron brake discs meet Euro 7 — today their finishing relies on energy- and waste-intensive fine grinding. Hard turning is the more economical, faster and more sustainable alternative: around 85% lower finishing costs, no grinding sludge. We provide the complete approval validation for it — coating integrity, friction coefficient and wear through to brake-dust measurement per UN GTR No. 24 — and support the process change within the change management of running series production at OEMs and Tier-1, audit-ready to OEM maturity. Together with our tooling partner DTS GmbH, Kaiserslautern.
In depth · raw-material cycle
Critical raw materials.
Kept in the loop.
Titanium, nickel, cobalt — strategic raw materials on the EU list, bound up in every high-performance alloy. We process them from German secondary sources and consolidate them via FAST/SPS directly into components — without the detour through a new primary melt.
Titan-64
Recycled titanium, series-capable
Ti-6Al-4V from German secondary sources — consolidated directly into components via FAST/SPS. Industry-grade titanium made in Germany, without the energy-intensive route through the primary melt.
FMP focus area · in development
Inconel 718 · Hastelloy
Nickel-based superalloys
High-temperature-resistant nickel-, cobalt- and iron-based alloys. They bind up the critical elements nickel and cobalt — processed from secondary material into dense components via FAST/SPS.
critical elements kept in the loop
EU-CRM
Securing supply
The European Critical Raw Materials Act requires higher recycling rates for strategic raw materials. FAST/SPS processes them as sinterable secondary material, without prior remelting — a short, low-energy route back into application.
contribution to supply security
Dual-use — protective materials
Protection and high temperature.
From one process.
Several material systems, one common denominator: via FAST/SPS denser, finer and harder — at significantly lower sintering temperatures than conventional routes. From ballistic protection to thermally highly loaded high-temperature structures. Two of them are FMP in-house developments.
Titanium-ceramic composite
Ballistic protection
Our own materials family for ballistic protection: a titanium matrix with a ceramic hard phase, manufactured via FAST/SPS in a single cycle — designed for protection levels up to 6+ per NATO STANAG 4569 and for VPAM up to class 14.
FMP-Eigenentwicklung
Ti-TiB₂
Graded composite (FGM)
A ductile titanium base, a ceramically hard strike face — the transition graded in a single FAST cycle. No joint, no bonding, no layer boundary.
FMP-Eigenentwicklung
B₄C
Boron carbide
The lightest armour ceramic: 2.52 g/cm³ at HV 30–35 GPa. Densified via SPS at ~1,850 °C — as a SiC-graphene composite with up to 50% lower penetration depth compared with the SiC reference.
Yin et al. 2019 · Sairam et al. 2014
SiC
Silicon carbide
The robust standard against hard threats: where B₄C amorphises under pressure from high-velocity impacts, SiC remains load-bearing — the choice against AP cores.
Chen et al. 2003 · Reddy et al. 2013
TiB₂
Titanium diboride
The only boride with robust armour data — very high hardness at 4.5 g/cm³. Fine-grained and dense via SPS; at FMP it is also the hard phase of the Ti-TiB₂ gradient.
FMP material record D-I · Evidence A
MgAl₂O₄
Transparent spinel
Transparent armour for vehicle windows, visors and sensor domes — harder than bulletproof glass, without spall fracture.
Tsotetsi 2022 · transparent armour
ZrB₂
Zirconium diboride · UHTC
Ultra-high-temperature ceramic for thermally extreme leading edges. Dense and fine-grained via FAST/SPS — where pressureless sintering reaches its limits.
UHTC · hypersonic potential
HfB₂
Hafnium diboride · UHTC
One of the highest-melting ceramics of all — a melting point above 3,200 °C. For oxidation- and thermal-shock-resistant protective structures under extreme thermal load.
UHTC · melting point > 3,200 °C
WMoTaNb
Refractory high-entropy alloy
A refractory high-entropy alloy (RHEA) with exceptional high-temperature strength — for transpiration-cooled high-temperature structures. Consolidated from powder via FAST/SPS, fine-grained and dense.
RHEA · transpiration-cooled
Young institute. Leading-edge technology.
Decades of practice.
FMP — Research Institute for Sustainable Material and Process Innovations — is a non-profit research company (gGmbH) based in Holzgerlingen. Application-oriented materials science meets industry-grade equipment infrastructure. Behind the system: two founders and a team who have worked in material and process development for decades — from process research to industrial application.
Non-profit mission: the advancement of science and research — realised through research and transfer projects, the qualification of early-career researchers, and research for recycling and the circular economy.
Get in touch →Founders
Dr.-Ing. André Hälsig
Focus: joining technology, research management.
Dr.-Ing. Ihsan Özer
Focus: brake technology, OEM contract research.
100%
Funds committed to research and development
Every return flows back — into research.
As a non-profit institute we do not work for founders or shareholders, but solely for the statutory purpose of FMP gGmbH: surpluses flow back entirely into research, early-career development and the circular economy — documented and audited.
Early careers · open positions
Research where innovation meets industry.
Internship, thesis, doctorate, working-student role or ERASMUS exchange — here, early-career researchers don't work at the margins but right at the centre: on the large-scale system and in the test centre, on real questions from OEMs and research consortia. Partners get to know you within a project long before the job market sees you.
InternshipBachelorMasterDoctorateWorking studentERASMUS exchange
Ask about open positions →
Apply speculatively →
Year-round — start any time. Reply within two working days.
News
News & events.
What's happening with us right now: trade fairs, funded projects, publications and open positions.
New posts coming soon.
Let's talk about your project.
Contract research, collaborative project, internship or a technical question — usually a reply within two working days.
Industry & OEMs
Contract research, feasibility, validation, demonstration, technology transfer. Bilateral. Confidential.
Funded projects
Collaborative and proposal projects, consortium leadership, federal, state and EU funding programmes.
Early careers & universities
Internships, bachelor's, master's and doctoral theses, scholarships, working students.