Chancellor meets green energy

The two Social Democratic politicians Scholz and Støre opened their tour of the Norwegian main stand in Hall 12 in good spirits at 9 a.m. sharp. As at the opening ceremony, they both once again emphasized their common bond. During the energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Norway stepped in at short notice as a gas supplier for Germany and Europe, thus preventing a serious energy supply crisis on the continent.

During the tour of the Norwegian stand, the guests also made it clear that the traditional fossil fuels of crude oil and natural gas are not the only options. Yara, for example, offers cleanly produced ammonium, which is used to operate the first green shipping route between Norway and Germany, including in Scholz's home city of Hamburg. Other important topics that Norwegian companies want to introduce are climate-neutral hydrogen, the use of which was demonstrated by the Norwegian state energy company Statkraft. The tour also made stops at Statkraft and Gen2Energy.

Sustainability is the key

In Hall 11, the focus was on sustainability. Lapp, for example, had Chancellor Scholz and Prime Minister Støre cut pieces from a copper cable with a protective sheath made of corn starch; the alternative material has similar properties and is significantly more sustainable than the plastics traditionally used. At Rittal next door, the focus was also on cables and the guests were allowed to get hands-on: At the touch of a button, they produced customized cables made to measure.

Harting demonstrated how these cables can then be connected.
At their stand, PreZero demonstrated how the circular economy can help prevent valuable raw materials and materials from being lost in the first place. The subsidiary of the Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland) employs 30,000 people worldwide and specializes in the recovery and recycling of valuable materials.

Automation is the key

Automation specialists are traditionally well represented. In Hall 11, Schneider Electric demonstrated a networking solution for the industry, which - supported by artificial intelligence in real time - allows the most cost-effective supplier to be found and the production plant to be operated more efficiently at the touch of a button, without losing performance.

With the medium-sized company Pepperl+Fuchs, the topic of artificial intelligence then became the focus of interest: The demonstration at the stand showed how a system can be controlled with the help of 3D visualization and object recognition.

Siemens had also built its demonstration around artificial intelligence: A pick-and-place setup in which a cobot has to recognize and sort scattered objects in a box. A special feature here was the user interface: in addition to traditional control methods, it also allows voice recognition. Artificial intelligence takes care of everything in the background once it has been trained accordingly.

The tour concluded at the stands of the German technology companies Bosch Rexroth and SEW-Eurodrive. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre were unanimously satisfied at the end: The joint Green Energy Transition project is on its way.