Industrial Automation Magazine India

Hannover Messe 2024 Preview: AI & Innovative technologies to the fore

Published on : Monday 26-02-2024

A preview of the event was held at the Fairgrounds on February 21, 2024 with 25 exhibitors offering a sneak peak of what they are bringing to the fair in April.

 

February 26, 2024 – The next edition of Hannover Messe, the world’s most important trade fair for the digitalisation of industry, is scheduled to run from 22 to 26 April 2024 in Hannover, Germany. A preview of the event was held at the Hannover Fairgrounds on February 21, 2024 with 25 exhibitors offering a sneak peak of what they are bringing to the fair in April to a select group of global media persons. The event was also live streamed for a global audience.

“Geopolitical tensions, climate change, stagnating growth, high prices for energy and a shortage of skilled workers mean that cost discipline and efficiency are currently the dominant themes in companies. At the same time, artificial intelligence is leading to profound changes in the worlds of work in industry. In addition, business leaders and trade associations are warning of a de-industrialisation of Europe,” said Dr Jochen Köckler, CEO of Deutsche Messe AG, describing the environment in which this year's Hannover Messe takes place.

“Hannover Messe is more important than ever this year, because the economic environment has rarely been so volatile. In Hannover, technologies and solutions will be presented to enable industry to produce on a competitive and sustainable basis. The trade fair will be all about intelligent and carbon-neutral production, AI, hydrogen, and cross-sector energy solutions. For European companies in particular, Hannover Messe will thus create a bulwark against the impending de-industrialisation of Europe,” said Köckler. “Our exhibitors will show that competitive industrial production is possible in Europe. However, this will require a regulatory framework that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship.”

The solution lies in the interplay of automation, digitalisation and electrification, broad cross-industry and cross-border cooperation, and a clear political course. Köckler: “With the lead theme ‘Energising a Sustainable Industry’, 4,000 exhibitors, high-caliber representatives from politics and industry, and with Norway as the partner country, Hannover Messe 2024 is the ideal platform for this.”

More than 300 economic delegations are expected to attend the trade fair, first and foremost the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, who will open Hannover Messe together with the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre. In addition, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the German Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, will use the world’s leading trade fair for industry to exchange ideas with representatives of the industrial sector. “If Europe is to retain substantial and sustainable production and investment, then the amount of red tape must be urgently reduced, for example through faster planning and authorisation procedures,” Köckler appeals.

The exhibiting companies include global tech giants such as Accenture, AWS, Bosch, DELL Technologies, Google, Microsoft, SAP, ServiceNow, Schneider Electric and Siemens as well as SME technology leaders such as Beckhoff, GP Joule, ebm-papst, Ericsson, Festo, Turck, Harting, ifm, igus, LAPP, Pepperl+Fuchs, Phoenix Contact, Rittal, Schunk, SEW-Eurodrive, Wago, WIBU and Ziehl-Abegg plus renowned research organisations such as the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and more than 300 industrial startups.

Partner Country Norway at this year’s event is using the global stage offered by Hannover Messe to present itself as an innovative and reliable energy partner, among other things. The motto of the partner country is “Norway 2024: Pioneering the Green Industrial Transition”. This underscores Norway’s ambition to play a key role in the development of solutions in the fields of renewable energies, carbon-neutral production, carbon capture and the digitalisation of industry.

At the “North Sea Energy Hub” conference on 23 April, politicians and experts from Norway and Germany will discuss the transition in energy policy, with a focus on general political conditions as well as technological developments and applications. Köckler: “In Europe, Norway is a powerhouse for energy and digitalisation. Which means it fits in perfectly with Hannover Messe.”