Industrial Automation Magazine India

Hannover Messe Press Preview 2023: Focus on connectivity and climate neutrality

Published on : Thursday 16-02-2023

How targeted use of technology can help meet the challenges facing industry: climate change, energy shortages, disrupted supply chains and a shortage of skilled labor.

Hannover, Germany, February 15, 2023 –  Carbon-neutral production, artificial intelligence, hydrogen technologies, energy management and Industrie 4.0 – those are the overarching themes of HANNOVER MESSE 2023, said Dr Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Managing Board of the Deutsche Messe group of companies. Only the interplay of these technologies will make it possible to sustainably safeguard our prosperity and at the same time drive climate protection forward, he added. Dr Köckler was addressing the global trade media represented by over 120 journalists at the Hannover Fairgrounds in the traditional press preview.

At the worlds leading trade fair for industry in mid-April 2023, some 4,000 companies from the mechanical engineering, electrical and digital industries as well as the energy sector will showcase solutions for production and the energy supply of the future.

From the digitalisation and automation of complex production processes and the use of hydrogen to power factories and the use of software to register and reduce carbon footprints, HANNOVER MESSE offers a holistic picture. As Köckler assured: Approaches to solutions for each of the current global challenges will be on display at HANNOVER MESSE.

The exhibiting companies include global tech corporations such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, SAP, Siemens, Bosch, NOKIA, ServiceNow and Schneider Electric, as well as medium-sized technology leaders like Beckhoff, Festo, Harting, ifm, Pepperl+Fuchs, Phoenix Contact, Rittal and SEW. Renowned research institutes such as Fraunhofer or the KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) as well as more than 300 startups promise cutting-edge technologies and completely new business models.

Large amounts of data are needed to tap the full potential of Industrie 4.0 – data that can be accessed by all companies involved in the value creation chain. A new interconnected data ecosystem – Manufacturing X – is part of the solution.

This vision of a sovereign and secure data platform is being driven forward by the industry associations BDI, VDMA and ZVEI, among others. The first steps towards implementing Manufacturing X will be presented at HANNOVER MESSE in close cooperation with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

As Köckler put it: The aim is to preserve the independence of companies. They should not lose access to the customer interface, but they also need to tap the potential of the platform economy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role in industry. In addition to optimising processes, the manufacturing industry is increasingly relying on AI in simulation and product development.

So-called generative AI will also find its way into industry. Systems such as ChatGPT or DALL-E can already support text generation, programming and design today. In the future, it is quite conceivable that AI will design a machine and the human will then check which adjustments are necessary for real operation. This saves time and offers considerable potential in view of the prevailing shortage of skilled workers, stated Köckler. On the subject of AI, HANNOVER MESSE offers a comprehensive range of visitor tours, forums and presentations of AI tools and use cases from exhibitors.

Smart energy monitoring solutions from HANNOVER MESSE exhibitors help to identify and optimise energy consumption at the machine level, thereby reducing the carbon footprint.

Most industrial users are still hardly aware of the numerous hidden forms of consumption, explained Köckler. Unregulated motors in pumps, fans, compressors or machines are still part of everyday life in many factories. Without intelligent control technology and the interaction of electrical engineering and IT, energy efficiency improvements are scarcely feasible.

According to Köckler: Industry consumes around 45 percent of the electricity in Germany. The solutions presented by the exhibiting companies can make an important contribution to a significant increase in energy-efficiency in the production realm.

More than 500 companies at HANNOVER MESSE will be showcasing solutions for the use of hydrogen in industry, said Köckler. This makes Hannover the worlds most important and largest platform covering hydrogen themes.

Users from industry and political decision-makers can get a holistic picture of the potential of this energy carrier in Hannover and see the course that needs to be set on the road to hydrogen-based industry.

Eko S A Cahyanto, Director General of Industrial Resilience, Regional and International Industrial Access (KPAII), Ministry of Industry Indonesia, made a presentation on behalf of Partner Country, Indonesia. The Hannover Messe 2023 is a great opportunity for Indonesia to manifest its industrial vision and introduce the roadmap for Making Indonesia 4.0 globally, said Cahyanto. Over 150 Indonesian companies are expected to participate in the main event.

Dr Nina Gaissert, Corporate Portfolio Projects and BioTech Automation at Festo, during her keynote explained the working of the Festo PhotoBionicCell. We need to integrate nature into automation technology. Only when technology and biology merge can we tackle climate change and make the circular economy a reality. By cultivating biomass on a large scale through our automation technology, Festo is making an important contribution to this. A first step towards this is the PhotoBionicCell from Festo, she explained.

HANNOVER MESSE will be opened by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Indonesia is this years Partner Country at the industrial fair.

Indonesia, the largest economic power in the ASEAN region, is appearing as the Partner Country at HANNOVER MESSE 2023. Their motto is: Making Indonesia 4.0. Indonesia aims to be one of the ten largest economies in the world by the year 2030. Renewable energies are expected to account for some 51.6 percent of total electricity generation by then.

Hannover Messe is scheduled from 17 to 21 April 2023. The Partner Country at HANNOVER MESSE 2023 is Indonesia.