The Hannover Messe 2024 trade fair is underway, uniting mechanical and electrical engineering and digital industries under its ‘industrial transformation’ lead theme (April 22-26).
This year’s exhibition is also designed around ‘energising a sustainable industry’. Key topics include Industry 4.0/Manufacturing-X, Energy for Industry, Digitization/Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Carbon-neutral Production, and Hydrogen and Fuel Cells.
Tomorrow (April 23) sees the fifth edition of the Lightweighting Summit, organised by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
This year’s congress focuses on the topic of lightweight construction as a transformation technology for the resource transition, and will highlight the key role of lightweight construction concepts in the transition to a resource-efficient economy.
Another Tuesday highlight at the Hannover Exhibition Centre includes the ‘Renewable Dialogue – North Sea Energy Hub’, which will hear from politicians and experts from Germany and partner country Norway.
Basilios Triantafillos, Global Director Trade Fair and Product Management Hannover Messe at Deutsche Messe AG, said the aim is to highlight the potential for cooperation between Norwegian and German companies and to discuss pioneering technological solutions.
Exhibitors include Bosch, which is presenting sustainable solutions for the hydrogen economy, factory automation and AI, and targeting €10bn industrial technology sales by 2028.
“As an early adopter of artificial intelligence and digitaliaation applications, industrial technology is like almost no other sector,” said Tanja Rueckert, Member of the Board of Management.
“Software and connectivity help increase efficiency, quality, and sustainability in production. The only way we can secure our standard of living and prosperity is with a strong industrial sector.”
A new electrohydraulically driven cryogenic pump has been developed in partnership with FirstElement Fuel, a leading company in the US, for the commercial operation of hydrogen filling stations.
This cryogenic pump compresses liquid hydrogen directly to 875 bar. The aim is to refuel heavy trucks with 100 kg of hydrogen in under ten minutes. Direct refueling eliminates the need for intermediate storage tanks at filling stations. The first filling stations are set to be equipped starting in 2025.
Partners include Bosch Rexroth – also in attendance – which has developed scalable solutions for servo-hydraulic compressor drives in the power range between 10 and 280 kW for the compression of hydrogen. The aim is to refuel vehicles with 100 kg of hydrogen within 10 minutes.
With direct refueling, there is no need for temporary storage tanks at filling stations. It is also targeting the first filling stations to be equipped with the new system from next year.
Its 75 kW CytroCore compressor drive can be used to compress both liquid and gaseous hydrogen. In the lower output range of 10 kW, a ready-to-connect self-contained actuator CytroForce drives the compressor cylinders. No specific hydraulics know-how is required for either of the solutions.
Bosch Rexroth is expanding its portfolio of subsea actuators with additional variants and motion options to electrify and digitalise all safety-relevant movements at depths of up to 4,000 metres.
Newly developed eSEA actuators supplied with 24 V low-voltage (DC) are an economical alternative to capital- and energy-intensive conventional hydraulic systems.
Feintool, in collaboration with the laser welding expert SITEC, is promoting its high-precision parts for hydrogen applications on an industrial scale.
ABB, which is featured in the May issue of gasworld global, is also among the attendees.
