January 30, 2026
With the project “TeraFoam”, a Bavarian consortium of industry and research partners is initiating a technological breakthrough in plastics processing. The aim is to develop an innovative terahertz measurement system capable of capturing the raw density and cell size of polymer foams in real time during extrusion. This new technology is intended to enable immediate optimisation of the production process, reducing scrap while saving energy, time and costs.
Würzburg, Rosenheim, Martinsried – The collaborative project “TeraFoam” marks the start of a pioneering research initiative aimed at increasing resource efficiency in polymer foam extrusion. The objective is to develop an innovative terahertz measurement system that records the raw density and cell size of foamed plastics inline and in real time. This allows production deviations to be detected and corrected immediately – a decisive step towards reducing scrap, energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.
The project is funded under the Bavarian Collaborative Research Programme (BayVFP) and will run from July 2025 to June 2028. The consortium consists of esmo AG (special-purpose machinery), Menlo Systems GmbH (photonics and metrology) and the Plastics Centre SKZ. Together, the partners are developing a compact, high-precision measurement system based on terahertz technology that can be seamlessly integrated into industrial extrusion processes. At the end of the project, direct applicability in a real production environment will be demonstrated at an industrial foam manufacturer.
The expected impact is substantial: for a typical extrusion line alone, a greenhouse gas reduction potential of around 3,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year is forecast. In the long term, the technology opens up new opportunities for production digitalisation and quality assurance across a wide range of industries – from insulation materials to elastomer foams.
The project team invites additional foam manufacturers to actively participate, whether through consultation on integrating the measurement system into existing production processes, by providing foam samples, or by enabling measurements to be carried out at their production sites.
The consortium would like to thank the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy for its funding support (Funding Code: MW-2505-0004) under the Bavarian Collaborative Research Programme (BayVFP), which has made this forward-looking project possible.
The esmo Group operates worldwide while remaining firmly rooted in the Rosenheim region. Close customer relationships and communication on equal terms are a core part of the company’s culture. This is what sets esmo apart from many others – and has made it a particularly successful and reliable partner for companies in the semiconductor industry and in special-purpose machinery for more than 25 years.
Almost 300 colleagues work every day on behalf of customers such as Infineon, Advantest, AMD, Texas Instruments, Siemens, Bayer, Clariant, MD Elektronik and Würth to develop unique, tailor-made solutions.