ESSENTIAL DASTHE MAGAZINEMAGAZIN – – #1 ISSUE 2021 #1 2021 FREUDENBERG SEALING TECHNOLOGIES FREUDENBERG ALL OPTIONS EXHAUSTED? (IN)FINITE Rubrikname 3 6 Rubrikname CoverRubrikname Theme 37 IN CHARGE PIONEERINGIN FIFTY WORDS WORK FOR NEW SEALING AND DRIVE SYSTEMS How will we live in the future? Answers to the big questions of the future WATCH THE TRAILER such as emission-free mobility, sustainableResources energy supply, and eff areective finite. Really? The climate protection can be discovered by opening up to new ideas and alliances. As a sealing specialist, we design innovative, tailor-made solutions for all industrial areas. In the last few years, weideas have expanded for this expertise dealing to with scarcity new drive systems. Our engineers and technicians currently develop and manufacture high-performance batteries as well as fuel cells for buses, trucks, trains, and commercial marine. Ourare hybrid infinite system can be used in all– alternative pro- our Heavy Duty Systems, intelligently combining battery and fuel cells. Our willingness to embrace change has consistently made us the market and technology leader for over 170 years of companycesses, history. fst.com recycling, discarding a material. It simply means taking a fresh look at the resource THE MAGAZINE online: www.fst.com/corporate/magazine question. Have we considered everything? Has everything been exhausted? There are usually ways out. Searching for them becomes all the more NEW ENERGY MAP THE SKILLS SHORTAGE Political scientist Dr. Kirsten West- Skilled workers are in demand – important. (IN)FINITE phal on hydrogen’s growing role. and increasingly in short supply. ALL OPTIONS EXHAUSTED? THIRD DIMENSION Aerial trams from LEITNER AG improve public transport in cities. the magazine 1_21 FST-20-036_215x260_EN_RZ.indd 1 26.03.21 14:33 4 Essay Essay 5 (In)finite – All Options Exhausted? An Essay by Claus Möhlenkamp, Chief Executive Officer, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies A person standing on the edge of a large forest or the shore of lar situation. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s population suffer that the demand for wood in preindustrial metalworking an enormous lake may find it hard to grasp that they contain from a water shortage at least one month a year. And a full required massive amounts of charcoal. At about the same peri- finite amounts of wood and water. When we see vistas that one-fifth of the world’s forests have been cleared since 1950. od in Central America, mercury was used to mine silver to Resource scarcity can stretch beyond what the eye can see, perhaps views of a reduce the use of water and wood. But this proved not to be often be managed and mountain or a desert, we call them “endless landscapes.” The This in turn has much to do with the sheer number of people, sustainable, mainly due to the impact on the workers’ health. size of our planet is hard for us to comprehend, though we currently around 7 billion, populating our planet. By 2050, the compensated for. have an expression, “like sand in the sea,” that refers to seem- United Nations expects the world’s population to increase to The examples show that scarcity had always led humankind ingly endless quantities. It comes from the Bible, making it nearly 10 billion. Since resources are finite, it seems as though to chart a different course and use a resource more efficiently nearly 2,000 years old. In this day and age, we use 50 million the planet is unable to support all of them. as its supply dwindles. That means “finite” is a relative term. tons of sand annually. The seemingly infinite supply of sand is Sometimes reserves last longer than originally assumed. Or it running short. Coasts and rivers are eroding. Water is in a simi- Or are they finite? helps to change perspectives: How crucial is the raw material Incidentally, human labor can be a resource as well, and it is actually? Do alternatives exist? The examples of water and already in short supply in some areas. Similarly, scarcities of In the 21st century, we doubtless find ourselves in a situation wood show how diverse the possibilities may be. Raw materi- nonmaterial resources like time or attention may exist. The of historic magnitude. Still, shortages of resources are actually als can be replaced. Processes can be changed or tools can be year 2020 did an excellent job of surprising us with what we not that new. Over the course of history, many societies have reinvented. It might even be possible to reuse a material. And might lack: from medical equipment to toilet paper – or even faced them again and again. there is always another question: How much of our consump- close human contact. tion is really necessary? Might we be able to set limits on what For example, archaeologists have considered the island of we consume? We are sure about one thing, however: It is often possible to Pantelleria an exciting field of research, wondering why people manage and offset resource shortages, although not always Nearly two-thirds of the have been living there, of all places, for thousands of years All of this applies to the present as well. People have been pro- immediately. And rarely without effort or sacrifice. But scarcity even though it hardly has any water. The researchers found jecting the scarcity of oil for a long time, and the world has re- often leads to innovation and economic progress in the first world’s population endure that the inhabitants collected rainwater in cisterns. In the end, sponded with alternative sources of energy, battery-electric place. Scarcity is a challenge that unleashes creative potential. water shortages at least one shortages of resources spur invention. That was the experi- propulsion and fuel cells, not to mention new conveyor tech- Have we really exhausted all the options? All the possibilities? ence of the Sumerians who built an advanced civilization on nologies and the more economical use of fossil fuels. Some- Some raw materials may be finite, but the sources of ideas month a year. the idea of irrigating an arid landscape and conveying water times we find that parameters can be changed. For example, and innovations that solve problems are clearly infinite, as from the Euphrates onto their fields. The idea was not sustain- forecasts of the world’s population extend beyond the afore- is the range of ongoing social, technical and economic devel- able, however, even if the difficulties only became apparent mentioned year 2050 and suggest that growing prosperity opments. We at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies want to over the course of centuries. Evaporation salinized the soil, could lead to significant declines in birth rates and thus to a make contributions in these areas. To this end, the latest making it unusable. In the 15th century in central Europe, cities shrinking population long-term. That alone won’t solve all the edition of ESSENTIAL should serve as both an inspiration and came up with the idea of replanting forests. It turned out problems. But it will open up new possibilities. an incentive. 14 54 Interview Who Is Missing – and Where? Political scientist Dr. Kirsten The most important resource for the Westphal on hydrogen and the economy is becoming scarce everywhere: Content energy transition. skilled labor. 03 04 08 46 52 In Fifty Words Essay Story Board The Third Dimension Infographic (In)finite: All Options The increasing scarcity of Wood, minerals, living LEITNER AG builds aerial Full speed ahead – Exhausted? resources is opening our space: Resources are very trams in the mountains ... with renewable eyes to alternatives. diverse – and coveted. and increasingly in cities. energy. 26 29 30 58 59 60 Methanol on the High Seas By the Numbers Swapping Everything Out High Skills for the Future Now I’m Telling You With a Cold Runner Ships can generate clean A single date ought to Two brothers make a At FST, Cara Mia Pesta has Rare earths are indispensa- An injection molding tech- electricity on board. sensitize humanity to how smartphone as sustaina- learned a trade that has ble, and not really as rare nology saves raw materials wastefully we are behaving. ble as possible. never existed before. as you might think. and cuts CO2 emissions. 34 38 45 68 70 Raw Material on the Move For Lack of Evidence Essential Worth-Knowing Feedback and Contact Designers around the world Chief Detective Jörg Vitamin D is important, News from the world We look forward to a know bamboo is a superb Schmitt-Kilian tells how but not that easy to get. of Freudenberg Sealing dialogue with you! material for bike frames. to convict a criminal. Technologies. 22 42 64 City – Sand – River Catapulted to the The Optimist Not all sand is alike. And that World’s Summit A Swedish author is especially a problem for the Barely professional yet world-class: believes in progress. construction industry. Soccer in Iceland. 8 Rubrikname Rubrikname 9 Emerald Isle One might think that the rugged beauty of Ireland is solely Nature’s work. But that’s only part of the story. The Emerald Isle ultimately owes its name to its ever-present meadows, not its lush woodlands. This relates to the fact that its residents have made abundant use of wood as a resource for centuries. To the point that woodlands, which covered 80 percent of the island in the distant past, were reduced to just 2.5 percent of its area 350 years ago. The wood was used to build ships and barrels and to make charcoal for iron-working and glassmaking. Pasture land for cattle also took its toll. By 1928, the share of woodlands in the Republic of Ireland was 1.2 percent.