Again in full format: Many of the exhibition topics are not new – but from the point of view of the organizers, their discussion is now all the more urgent in the multi-crisis situation.
At the first major edition of the Hanover Fair after the Corona crisis, around 4,000 exhibitors want to show their innovations for more climate-friendly production in mid-April. Exhibition boss Jochen Köckler presented the program of the most important industrial show on Wednesday.
The central topic is technologies that should lead to CO2-neutral production and resource-saving circular economy in the medium term. Specifically, it is about energy management and the development of a hydrogen economy, but also about automation, machine learning, artificial intelligence and data-driven, networked manufacturing processes.
Messe boss: Technical solutions to current challenges
“We currently have four major challenges: climate change, energy shortages, interrupted supply chains and a shortage of skilled workers,” said Köckler. “Solutions for this will be of a technical nature. And the solutions come together at the Hanover Fair.” From April 17th to 21st, the exhibitors included Siemens, SAP and Festo. A number of medium-sized companies and start-ups have also registered.
Climate protection, energy efficiency and automation were closely related, explained Köckler – they formed a cross-cutting theme at the trade fair. “It is our task to increasingly achieve CO2-free production. The industry is stepping up to show this.”
Hydrogen as an energy carrier and storage medium and its generation through green electricity electrolysis is a focus. “There are still a lot of questions: where is it produced, how is it transported, how will pricing work?” A good 500 exhibitors dealt with this complex of topics at the trade fair alone. Biotechnologies to replace oil-based plastic are also being discussed. The accompanying conference program deals, among other things, with ways to attract more young people to professions with a scientific and technical orientation.
Partner country Indonesia
Partner country is Indonesia. The largest country in Southeast Asia with an annual economic output of almost 1.2 trillion US dollars and a population of 276 million people was already in 2021 – at that time, however, there was only a digital and reduced version of the fair after it had to be canceled in 2020 due to the corona. Now Indonesian exhibitors want to present themselves again in full format.
This year, the exhibition will once again take up most of the site. “Finally out of the video conference, into the exhibition hall – when people come together, we also need a suitable platform,” said Köckler. In 2022, the Hannover Messe, with around 2,500 exhibitors, was significantly smaller than before the pandemic. Around 75,000 visitors came and a further 15,000 took part digitally. Before the Corona outbreak, the show in the Lower Saxony state capital often had more than 200,000 guests.
“2022 was a real restart year,” said Köckler of the German Press Agency. “We notice that direct exchange is booming, especially in times of other crises.” According to provisional figures, the loss of Deutsche Messe AG, which organizes the Hanover Fair, was less than 15 million euros after all the events organized in Germany and abroad. Originally, the company had expected a minus of 52 million euros. (dpa)