HERMES AWARD 2026
Who is shaping the future of industry? Experience live at HANNOVER MESSE 2026 how groundbreaking innovations are honored - and gain insights into technologies that are changing the entire industry. The 23rd HERMES AWARD ceremony will take place during the opening ceremony of HANNOVER MESSE on April 19, 2026.
The application phase for the HERMES AWARD has closed
We would like to thank all participating companies for their submissions and look forward to announcing the winner during the opening ceremony of HANNOVER MESSE 2026.
Who can participate?
The call for entries is aimed at all companies and institutions from Germany and abroad that exhibit at HANNOVER MESSE 2026 or participate in other ways in terms of content.
The participation fee is 250 euros plus VAT.
Which solutions can be submitted?
Eligible for participation are products, technological innovations or solutions that will be exhibited at HANNOVER MESSE 2026, have a high degree of maturity in application and can be judged as particularly innovative in terms of their technological and economic implementation.
Added value for the award winner
In addition to the attention in front of an international reputation, the award winner receives an attractive PR package worth around 100,000 euros. This includes comprehensive advertising activities that guarantee the award winner maximum visibility at HANNOVER MESSE.
HERMES Start Up AWARD 2026
Deutsche Messe AG also presents the HERMES Start Up AWARD, which is open to young companies that have been in existence for a maximum of five years. There is no participation fee.
Deadline 15 February 2026
The Jury for the HERMES AWARD 2026
President, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Director of the Fraunhofer IWU
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Thyssenkrupp AG
Vice President Outreach at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg
Director of Fraunhofer IAF
Director of the Fraunhofer IML
Head of Digital Design Manufacturing and Services der Airbus SE
Vorstand der VolkswagenStiftung
Business Editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Chief Editor der VDI Nachrichten
Chief Editor Industrieanzeiger
Chief Editor MM MaschinenMarkt
Head of the Institute for Electrical Process Engineering at Leibniz University Hannover
Head of University Cooperation at the Fraunhofer Society
HERMES AWARD 2026 – Nominations
The nominated project involves highly integrated manifolds, i.e., multi-layer plastic distributor plates that control, dispense, and mix liquids while monitoring flow rates using sensors. Compared to conventional channel plates, which mainly perform passive distribution functions, the Festo manifold integrates active functions within a very compact installation space: optimized mixing channels, media-separating valve technologies with minimized dead volume and integrated sensors for temperature, flow, pressure, color, pH value, etc. The challenges lay in designing and manufacturing the user-friendly platform. The technical innovation is the combination of finely structured, multilayer microchannels and integrated valve and dosing elements, directly embedded sensory measuring points, and a manufacturing process design that makes these functionalities economically feasible in series production. This enables more compact, more reliable, and more easily validatable systems for biotech, medical technology, and semiconductor applications.
A platform for highly integrated actuators was nominated, which has been specially designed for use in the articulation points of humanoid robots. The platform includes highly efficient servomotors with integrated power electronics and encoders, and can be configured with two-stage planetary or shaft-mounted gear units depending on customer requirements. Development of the actuators consistently pursued the aim of minimizing installation space and achieving a high continuous torque. Compared to the latest solutions on the market, the installation space has been reduced by around 20 percent. The copper fill factor in the frameless PSM machine has been increased to ensure a low temperature level at high torques. The actuator platform significantly reduces system costs and thus creates a key prerequisite for the rapid scaling of service robotics.
The company has been nominated for an electric synchronous elevator machine that does not require magnets made from rare earths, yet still offers consistently high performance. The new elevator machine works with ferrite magnets and entirely dispenses with critical raw materials such as neodymium or dysprosium, which were previously considered indispensable for high-performance drives due to their high-power density. The innovation lies in a completely new motor design. As a result, torque density remains high, running smoothness is maintained and energy efficiency is on a par with previous premium solutions. Dispensing with rare earths reduces dependence on critical raw materials. Ferrite magnets, on the other hand, are available worldwide, have a reliable supply chain, and are much more environmentally friendly to produce.
HERMES AWARD
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Deutsche Messe AG
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