News
07/04/2025
Innovation meets industry: digital technologies at Hannover Messe 2025
Full halls, interested visitors and plenty of innovation: the exhibition stands of the BMWK-funded projects at the Hannover Messe showed how digital technologies are shaping the future. Demonstrators and practical insights illustrated how GreenTech, AI, 5G, quantum computing and ICT are driving innovation, resilience and sustainability.
How more efficient AI models reduce the energy requirements of data centres: use cases presented by Hannah Stein, DFKI (far right)
© DLR-PT
Dr Ole Janssen, Head of the VIC - Standardisation Policy and Digital Technologies sub-department at the BMWK, draws a positive conclusion and is optimistic about the next steps: "The progress we are seeing at the Hannover Messe is encouraging. It is crucial that we focus on market requirements when developing digital technologies. Then we can use the technologies we are promoting to create the basis for sustainable innovations and a successful digital transformation in key areas such as mobility and production. The BMWK is looking forward to continuing along this path."
Artificial intelligence for the production of the future
Quality assurance in series production places high demands on precision and efficiency - especially in the metal and plastics processing industry. The WenDeKI project uses generative AI to master this challenge.
The problem: conventional AI inspection systems require large amounts of training data in order to reliably differentiate between flawless and faulty components. In practice, however, there are often only a few defective sample parts available, for example in the automotive industry. "Data is the new currency", is often said - but in many production environments it is in short supply.
WenDeKI's solution: an AI model generates synthetic image data of defective parts and uses it to train camera-based inspection systems. This enables the system to reliably recognise defects even with just a few real examples.
GreenTech innovations for sustainable production
Sustainable industrial production needs intelligent solutions - especially in view of rising energy prices and growing climate protection requirements. The greenProd project relies on green digital twins to optimise production processes specifically on the basis of renewable energy sources. A central focus is on ease of use, especially for SMEs.
The idea: CO₂ emissions can be directly assigned to individual production steps so that companies can control their production processes efficiently. This results in significant advantages, such as optimised production times: production steps can be flexibly shifted to take advantage of favourable energy conditions. Another effect is an increase in competitiveness, as customers and business partners are placing increasing value on sustainable supply chains.
Artificial intelligence offers enormous potential - but its energy consumption is huge. The ESCADE project is researching how data centres and language models can be operated more energy-efficiently. The aim is to drastically reduce the ecological footprint and at the same time make powerful AI accessible to SMEs.
Particular attention is being paid to the optimal time for model training - for example, during periods when renewable energy is particularly available, such as in summer, or in countries with favourable framework conditions.
The CO2ptiMat project is focussing on more resource-efficient production in the plastics industry. The project has two main objectives: firstly, it is about greater transparency of the CO₂ footprint by collecting primary data, such as the electricity consumption of machines. Secondly, it is about optimisation by increasing the proportion of recycling and comparing economic and ecological KPIs. Visitors to the trade fair were able to view the software prototype at the Fraunhofer stand. "The automated and primary data-based calculation of the CO₂ footprint significantly reduces effort and costs. This frees up valuable resources that can be used to implement climate protection measures. At the same time, it also enables small and medium-sized companies to create transparency about their emissions - a decisive competitive advantage," explained Michael Wagner (KEX AG) and Bastian Thanhäuser (Fraunhofer IPT).
CO₂ balancing made easy
A transparent and standardised calculation of the product carbon footprint (PCF) is a key building block for sustainable industrial processes. Visitors to the UMATI stand were able to familiarise themselves with an innovative solution approach - presented by the CliCE-DiPP, EuPro-Gigant & ESCOM projects. It was demonstrated how PCF calculations are possible in a digital ecosystem based on standardised machine data across different locations and electricity mix variants.
"One of the biggest challenges is that there is currently no established standard for sustainability calculations," explained Sebastian Karnapp (TU Darmstadt). "Our goal is to develop a plug-and-play solution in the next few years that will give companies easy access to carbon accounting."
Digital infrastructure for safe automated driving
The ABSOLUT II project has set itself the goal of supporting the shift from motorised private transport to public transport through automated on-demand transport solutions in the outskirts of the city. These solutions are intended to supplement the public transport services in the city centre. For this project, a reference solution for driverless on-demand public transport services based on open, manufacturer-neutral interfaces is being developed and trialled in the Leipzig area. At the Hannover Messe, ABSOLUT II presented its ongoing research work at the stand of the "Ecosystem Mobility 4.0" initiative, in which representatives of the project are also actively involved. The initiative, which was launched by the BMWK in the second half of 2024, aims to work with industry, science and the public sector to create an open digital basis for autonomous on-demand shuttles in public transport. In addition, a digital "starter package" for autonomous, individualised public transport is to be designed, developed and implemented.
The MAD Urban project aims to integrate autonomous vehicles safely and efficiently into urban transport. The introduction of automated driving has so far often failed due to the inadequate ability of vehicles to "see" complex urban traffic sufficiently. This leads either to slow, inefficient journeys or, in the worst case, to dangerous accidents. MAD Urban solves this problem by using digital infrastructure equipped with modern sensors on streetlights and buildings as well as edge computers.
"A sensor on every lamp post and intelligence in the infrastructure - that's the future of safe automated driving," explained Jürgen Weimer (DLR). "With MAD Urban, we are making Germany and Europe one of the leading drivers for the safe and efficient integration of autonomous driving in urban traffic."
Customised 5G solutions for SMEs
The 5G4BP project aims to provide SMEs in business parks with access to customised 5G networks. While large companies are already building their own 5G campus networks, many SMEs lack the expertise and financial resources. 5G4BP offers an Open RAN-based solution in which a specialised company provides a 5G network across the entire business park. This means that smaller companies can also benefit from the high-performance, customised 5G infrastructure and avoid falling behind technologically.
To improve the availability of real-time communication, the project focuses on the disclosure of interfaces and flexible network design. The project also simplifies the management of 5G networks, resulting in lower operating costs and making the use of 5G more economical for SMEs.
Digital progress needs strategic promotion
Hannover Messe 2025 has once again highlighted how essential digital technologies are for a sustainable, resilient and competitive economy. With its technology programmes, the BMWK supports companies and research institutions in successfully implementing digital innovations.
