  We study cluster and hypernuclei production in heavy-ion collisions at
relativistic energies employing the Parton-Hadron-Quantum-Molecular-Dynamics
(PHQMD) approach, a microscopic n-body transport model based on the QMD
propagation of the baryonic degrees of freedom with density dependent 2-body
potential interactions. All other ingredients of PHQMD, including the collision
integral and the treatment of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) phase, are adopted
from the Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) approach. In PHQMD the cluster
formation occurs dynamically, caused by the interactions. The clusters are
recognized by the Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) algorithm. We present the PHQMD
results for cluster and hypernuclei formation in comparison with the available
experimental data at AGS, SPS, RHIC-BES and RHIC fixed target energies. We also
provide predictions on cluster production for the upcoming FAIR and NICA
experiments. PHQMD allows to study the time evolution of formed clusters and
the origin of their production, which helps to understand how such weakly bound
objects are formed and survive in the rather dense and hot environment created
in heavy-ion collisions. It offers therefore an explanation of the 'ice in the
fire' puzzle.
