Research, Innovation & Technology - vdma.org

From bionics to biointelligence – Advances in biology and its fusion with technology and IT are opening up a whole new dimension for machine makers to solve the current challenges of our time. The Scenario Study shows how this can be achieved.

The Research Subsidy Act came into force on 1 January 2020. Find out here who benefits from the new tax incentive, what you need to consider and how the VDMA supports you with this form of funding.

Discover startup contacts and trends for mechanical engineering worldwide?! The new digital startup search platform helps to find suitable partners.

What prospects does the topic of battery recycling offer for mechanical and plant engineering? A study by Fraunhofer ISI, commissioned by the IMPULS Foundation of the VDMA, sees good market potential for Europe.

In the new IGF project VoBAKI of the FKM working group Research I40 and AI, FIR e.V. and IAW of RWTH Aachen University are investigating strategies for acquiring competencies for AI applications.

As the conceptual sponsor and cooperation partner of Messe Düsseldorf, the VDMA Glass Technology Forum is responsible for key programme content at the glasstec conference and activities at its own stand in Hall 15B26.

How does a robot transform into a gecko? The start-up INNOCISE knows how and will demonstrate the transformation live at glasstec at the VDMA stand.

At the Mechanical Engineering Summit 2022, the prestigious Startup Award will for the first time explicitly focus on the topic of "sustainability". Startups with transformative potential can apply now.

Discovering innovative startups for your company - at Hannover Messe we made it possible: at Startup Matchmaking @ young tech enterprises.

Market Intelligence - is market data the key to keeping an eye on developments in mechanical engineering and making better strategic decisions? A VDMA-wide survey reveals.

Science and industry work hand in hand at the Buschhütten Campus. The Lab Tour provided a look at current research projects as well as solutions for digitalization and automation.

Israel is a source of innovation and startup hotbed for engineering. Take the opportunity to immerse yourself in the inspiring innovation ecosystem and find new partners from 18 - 21 Sep 2022.

A successful event: on May 11, 2022, 60 participants exchanged views on top issues ranging from sustainability management and climate neutrality to "zero impact" in raw materials at the Corporate Foresight spring conference. Exciting presentations, interesting discussions and inspiring networking.

Companies, as well as research institutes, can submit their project outlines for innovative technologies and processes via the easy-Online portal of the federal government until September 9, 2022.

Industry 4.0, IoT, AI, Blockchain: Just buzzwords or opportunities for innovation?

Digitalization alone will not be enough to solve the world’s challenges in climate protection, the use of scarce resources and circularity. How do we gain additional thrust? Microorganisms as “machines”, DNA as data storage: Biology in all its facets offers an additional dimension to Industrie 4.0 - a huge toolbox that can be used extensively in mechanical engineering and its customer industries.

Live in Geneva, 08.-09.06.2022: Experience top research and innovation on precision metrology and quantum technology, on quarks and cosmology, with international collaboration at its best. Conveyed by CERN experts, including guided tours. The exclusive follow-up event to our 6th Scenario Study.

Research is resource- and time-intensive. To support research and development, innovative projects receive financial support.

Even the last few square meters still available have now been allocated, around two weeks before the start of GrindingHub. From May 17 to 20, more than 370 exhibitors from 23 countries will be taking part on almost 18,000 m² of net exhibition space in three halls.

The research project for the development of a measurement method for thin coating layers has been successfully completed. The results show the suitability of the method, its limitations and challenges for further developments.

A new overview presents services of universities and research institutes in the field of materials handling and intralogistics, which can be claimed individually by companies.

There are 2022 startup solutions for metalworking to discover at the VDMA Technology Forum at AMB. Startups and machine builders who would like to participate can apply now.

Artificial intelligence is also increasingly relevant for drone applications. A new startup overview from the Industrial Drone Solutions consortium profiles young AI companies.

Advancing digitization, the development of climate-friendly technologies and the mobility revolution - the mechanical and plant engineering sector is facing enormous challenges. Securing the availability of skilled workers is becoming a mammoth task.

A large proportion of helicopter flights in Germany are not for transporting people. With its drone concept, the startup HALI tex wants to deliver a significantly cheaper alternative with the same operating time, drawing on experience in a completely different field.

The new edition shows that high-efficiency modules and large module formats are achieving a higher market share. Larger wafers are becoming established. No cost reduction for PV systems could be observed in 2021.

Startup innovations for the construction equipment industry: in October 2022, there will be innovative startups to discover at bauma that are shaping the future of the industry with fresh innovations.

Thousands of attractive apprenticeship positions are unfilled in the mechanical and plant engineering sector. The virtual trade fair of the VDMA – TechTalents – connects pupils with companies, universities and school networks.

Technological autarky is a fallacy in a globally networked world. At the same time, technological resilience is important for Europe, and mastery of production technologies is central to this.

The research association for Construction – Equipment and Plant Engineering celebrates its golden jubilee in September 2022.

The mechanical engineering sector in Germany welcomes the German government's intention to provide incentives for innovation and investment by the state and industry. This is the right way to strengthen companies for the future.

The Research Council for Refrigeration Technology (Forschungsrat Kältetechnik e.V. - FKT) promotes joint industrial research in the field of refrigeration and heat pump technology.

Gain inspiration and starting points for startup innovation, build networks and engage in exchange: This was the Ecosystem Journey "Startup Innovation" 2021 in Munich.

Innovation Labs - as testing grounds for "in-house startups" - are in vogue. But have they also arrived in mechanical engineering? With our VDMA-wide survey we uncover this.

In the research project "Bauen 2030" (Building 2030), the Fraunhofer IAO, together with the VDMA and other partners, investigated the potential for transforming the industry. The final report is now available.

Through the intelligent use of standardized methods in everyday design, components can be properly designed according to the current state of the art.

Innovation expenditure fell in the mechanical engineering sector in 2020, as it did in the German economy as a whole. "Research and innovation do not take place in a vacuum, but in entrepreneurial reality" says Hartmut Rauen, Deputy Managing Director of the VDMA on the occasion of the new study by ZEW Mannheim on innovation activity in the German economy.

In our theme publication you will find facts and figures on research and development, innovations and patents in mechanical engineering.

Access to the technical content of the Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association at the click of a mouse.

Traditionally at the beginning of the year, the VDMA revises and updates its economic policy positions.

The year 2020 was characterized by significant declines in sales, which led to an understandable restraint in research spending. However, the VDMA expects companies to increase their innovation spending again as early as this year.

On the initiative of the Executive Board of the Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, several research projects have been initiated and actively supported by the Association.

Research project enables the transmission of motor data via the existing motor cable for encoderless drives. Final report available for VDMA members. Demonstrator under construction.

Electricity, hydrogen or synthetic fuels: When it comes to the energy sources to be used in road transport of the future, there is much debate. A new study by the research association FVV now shows: Powertrain technologies are not the decisive factor for the speed at which transport in Europe can become both sustainable and climate-neutral, but rather the fastest possible departure from fossil energy carriers.

The VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association is a member of the FEI and supports machinery-related research projects of the FEI that are relevant to its member companies.

Who is starting up with which solutions in the intralogistics sector? An overview provides information on the international startup scene in the last 5 years.

Study on fiscal research promotion - mechanical engineering submits the most applications and sees great potential

The RoboBag research project aims to increase the cycle rates of pick-and-place systems for film packaging. The focus is on the development of models for the vacuum gripper-packaging pairing.

Small and medium-sized companies benefit from research results to which they would have no or only difficult access with their own resources.

FideLio aims at data-driven prediction of the build-up of deposits in critical components of the food industry.