Aerosols containing viruses play a key role in the further spread of the coronavirus. The “Healthy Air Initiative” consists of a network of Fraunhofer institutes and other partners. It pursues an integrated concept of research, knowledge transfer and networking, which provides companies with prompt, practical and scientifically based solutions for ventilating rooms to prevent the build-up of aerosols. In a first step, new consulting centers are being set up at institutions of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. These are a point of contact for small and medium-sized enterprises for all issues relating to the design of room ventilation systems in times of the pandemic. To meet the information needs of suppliers and manufacturers of air filtering systems and devices, the consulting centers share their practical consulting experience.

In the second phase of the concept and in cooperation with manufacturers, test environments will be operated to determine the efficacy of air filtration technologies, in particular using Corona surrogate viruses. This will provide rapid, conclusive evidence on the efficacy of air filtration technologies for preventing the spread of infection. In the third step, scientific studies will be conducted on the effectiveness of mobile and fixed air filtering systems in reducing contagious SARSCoV-2 aerosols.

Various Fraunhofer Institutes are involved in the “Healthy Air Initiative”. The Stuttgart Fraunhofer Institutes IBP (Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics), IGB (Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology) and IPA (Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation) form the scientific and organizational transfer basis of the consulting center. These are supported by the institutes of the University of Stuttgart IABP (Institute for Acoustics and Building Physics) and IFF (Institute of Industrial Manufacturing and Management) and draw on their nationwide connections with other expert institutions.