Making it a prime example of lightweight construction as a key enabling technology. The ILO1 from Emm! Solutions in Weil der Stadt is the star exhibit at the lightweight construction pavilion in Hall 5 featuring solutions from 14 companies based in Baden-Wurttemberg.

Without lightweight construction, the ILO1 would not have happened: that’s the story of this car’s development in a nutshell. In order to qualify for L7e vehicle classification for lightweight electric cars, the ILO1 had to weigh no more than 450 kilos without its batteries. That’s why the ILO1 was a real test case for lightweight technologies. "Lightweight construction is one of the focus topics at HANNOVER MESSE 2019," says Olaf Daebler, Global Director of Industrial Supply on the management team for HANNOVER MESSE. "We are delighted to have an exhibit in Hall 5, in the shape of the ILO1, which demonstrates the potential of lightweight construction in an impressive way."

The challenges facing mobility in the future require transport systems that are constantly being developed and improved. The ILO1 from Emm! Solutions has been designed to meet the fast-evolving requirement for new, and more especially autonomous, transportation solutions. There are currently four ILO1s in service on the roads. Number five is ready to go. This vehicle incorporates a number of improvements over its predecessor models, as well as state-of-the-art technology as advanced as anything offered by the big-name car manufacturers.

"On the test track the ILO1 is now able to accept driving instructions, complete assigned routes autonomously, recognize objects via a combination of on-board systems and external data input, respond to traffic signs and traffic lights, pick up a passenger at a designated stop and drop him or her off again at a specific point," says Armin Müller, founder and managing director of Emm! Solutions. He goes on to list the chief benefits of the ILO1: it is coordinated, shared, highly automated, lightweight, compact, and produces zero emissions, making it ideally suited for urban transportation needs in the future. The ILO1 is equipped with all the on-board systems needed for automated driving, including geo-positioning, radar, camera and lidar systems, as well as a data link that enables it to communicate with the surrounding infrastructure. "We believe that ILO1 No. 5 will do a great deal to stimulate the development of new, social and eco-friendly transport systems," says Müller.

And lightweight construction plays a key role here. The outer skin of the ILO1, for example, is made from a very thin CRP laminate, and many parts were made from metal or plastic using 3D printing technology.

Digital development chain drastically reduces time to market

Another key feature of the ILO's development was the use of a digital process chain, which meant that the prototype for the ILO1 could be designed and built in less than four months. Accelerated Innovation GmbH is another of the companies showcasing its lightweight construction solutions alongside the ILO1 on the Baden-Wurttemberg display stand. This start-up offers a platform where businesses are able to exploit the advantages of an end-to-end digitized development chain for their own projects. This system enables products to be developed and optimized much more quickly.

"The complex simulations and feedback loops in lightweight construction rely entirely on digital technology. An end-to-end digitized process chain allows us to exploit the full potential for optimization at the product development stage – making components and products not only lighter, but also more efficient, and therefore better," says Dr. Wolfgang Seeliger, chief executive of Leichtbau BW , which is organizing the stand in conjunction with Baden-Württemberg International (bw-i). "We see a triangle of technologies here – lightweight construction, digitization and additive manufacturing – which work together to produce significant added value."

Lightweight construction features prominently right across the HANNOVER MESSE lineup. Users from all sectors of industry will meet experts in Hannover who will show them how their products can be improved by weight-saving technologies. More than 100 business enterprises and industry associations will be presenting intelligent lightweight solutions across the spectrum at HANNOVER MESSE. The pivotal hub for lightweight construction is the Integrated Lightweight Plaza in Hall 5, which forms part of the trade show Industrial Supply . On the Tuesday morning of the show, the Industrial Supply Forum is devoted entirely to the subject of lightweight construction. Under the heading "Lightweight construction as an enabler of tomorrow’s mobility", the VDMA working group "Hybrid Lightweight Technologies" has put together a varied and wide-ranging program, culminating on the Tuesday afternoon in the first-ever government-sponsored summit on lightweight construction to take place at HANNOVER MESSE. Organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, the 1st Lightweighting Summit brings together leading experts from government, business and industry to discuss the role of lightweight construction and its significance as a competitive factor, and to explore strategies for promoting this key technology.