When ultralight bionic bees fly over trade fair stands in swarms, visitors pedal away on bicycles made of high-performance plastic or voice-controlled robots act autonomously, then it's Hannover Messe again. packaging journal took a look around the largest industrial trade fair, which showcases not only market-ready solutions but also plenty of visionary ideas. The more than 300 start-ups showcasing their ideas in Hanover are also impressive.
One of these young companies is the German start-up Cell2Green, which produces a biodegradable, additive-free cellulose film in an environmentally friendly process. The transparent film is compostable, but its recyclability is more important, explains co-founder Stefan Peuß. The environmentally friendly production process was developed as part of research work at the University of Rostock. Bio-based cellulose is dissolved, spread and solidified without the use of toxic chemicals. Cellulose from various types of biowaste or from the paper industry is used as a raw material.
The growing market for biologisation will be the focus of Festo's stand. The family-owned company specialises in pneumatic and electrical automation technology and is known for its visionary projects, for example in the field of bionic. This year, the stand will feature the first air show of the BionicBees, which demonstrate autonomous flying in a swarm. At around 34 grams, a length of 220 millimetres and a wingspan of 240 millimetres, the BionicBee is the smallest flying object in the Festo Bionic Learning Network to date.
Festo's „BionicHydrogenBattery“ offers a glimpse into the future of hydrogen technology. simple storage and safe transport of hydrogen with the help of bacteria. Since this year, the company has also been CO2-neutral at all locations worldwide in Scope 1 and 2, the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. The next step for Scope 3 will be to develop energy-efficient solutions for customers who use Festo products.
At the Pilz stand, one of the topics was a new service: Industrial Security Consulting Service (ISCS). future-proof production at the centre of attention. This is because industrial security will become mandatory by 2027 at the latest with the new Machinery Directive. In the networked world of automation, safety and security form a single unit. A security incident can have consequences for people, machines and the company, ranging from production downtime and loss of data to endangering the employees who operate the machine. Deliberate or unintentional manipulation of a machine can also paralyse operations and is therefore an important reason to take security precautions. This is where the new Pilz service comes in, which can also be used to Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck on his tour of the Pilz trade fair stand.
And Robert Krüger from Rockwell Automation explained an exciting project for the customer Nestlé, in which a digital twin is used to check the quality of chocolate. The The digital simulation is complemented by a physical installation for product sorting and autonomous material handling for packaging. Rockwell Automation will be exhibiting at the Microsoft stand, with both companies working together on technological innovations. For example, the FactoryTalk Edge and Cloud solutions from Rockwell Artificial intelligence, IoT and automation solutions brought together, so that people, processes and technologies can work seamlessly in both real and digital environments. The stand will also feature an Otto 100, an autonomous mobile robot (AMR), demonstrating the movement of packaged materials through the factory and showing how automated material movement can improve production throughput and human resources.
The Hannover Messe still has up to and including Friday 26 April opened its doors.
