This recommendation was followed on 1 April 1972 with the establishment of the Fraunhofer Institute for System Technology and Innovation Research in Karlsruhe – under Helmar Krupp as its director.

In 2005, Meyer-Krahmer was appointed State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Marion Weissenberger-Eibl (de) has been the director of Fraunhofer ISI since April 2007.

In 2007, the institute was restructured and its individual departments were turned into Competence Centers with specialized Business Units.

The energy transition and new mobility and transport concepts have resulted in Fraunhofer ISI's continued growth.

Prof. Edler joins the management team as executive director, contributing his expertise in the governance and policy of international research and innovation initiatives.

[3] In seven Competence Centers (CC), Fraunhofer ISI researches the origins, applications, opportunities and risks as well as the markets for innovative technical developments.

Particular attention is paid to exploring the impacts of these innovations on the economy, the state and society and providing a basis for decision-making in academia, industry and politics.

The four Business Units are Water Resources Management, Sustainability Innovation and Policy, Raw Materials, and Mobility.

Fraunhofer ISI employs around 270 permanent members of staff, who work on about 400 research projects each year.