Hannover. Industrial companies are increasingly looking for startups because they stand for entrepreneurship, innovation, flexibility and creativity and thus ensure competitiveness and economic growth. HANNOVER MESSE brings young and established companies together to explore opportunities for cooperation and investment. The Startup Areas at HANNOVER MESSE are located in Hall 2 and Hall 17. In addition, startups present themselves at state-sponsored group exhibits, national pavilions or as individual exhibitors.

For example, Apollo Green Solutions from Cologne, Germany, equips commercial buildings with an energy management platform that optimizes energy systems. AEInnova from Terrassa, Spain, uses aerospace technology to digitalize Industry 4.0 with minimal impact on the environment. ZeroKey from Calgary, Canada, offers a positioning technology that leads the field in accuracy by a factor of over 100. Bytefabrik.AI from Karlsruhe, Germany, develops intuitive artificial intelligence-based software solutions for analyzing machine and plant data.

Supporting program promotes networking

For startups, the opportunity to exchange ideas and network is an important part of trade fair participation. The Industrial Startup Stages in Halls 2 and 17 serve exactly this purpose with a mix of pitches and presentations. Examples include the panel discussions “Opportunities and challenges for startups in the Industrial Internet” and “Entrepreneurship and startup engine” as well as the keynotes "What innovations does Germany need now as a business location?”, “Playing to win: Sustainable value creation with AI” and “Why the world's most successful CEOs invest in startups and why they failed”.

According to conventional wisdom, startups need a lot of support from established companies in order to be successful. However, traditional companies can learn a lot from entrepreneurs and founders. The new masterclasses at HANNOVER MESSE serve both sides by promoting mutual exchange. For example, Michael Marhofer, CEO of the ifm group of companies, talks about successful cooperation between startups and large SMEs. Conversely, Michael Kuehne-Schlinkert, co-founder and CEO of Katulu, explains how artificial intelligence can be trained across companies, factories or machines without sharing sensitive data. Merantix Momentum offers companies of all sizes a comprehensive guide to developing a sustainable AI strategy with its masterclass “AI Canvas Workshop”. Participation in a masterclass is included in the price of an admission ticket. A separate registration is required at https://www.hannovermesse.de/event/masterclasses/wor/108883 .

HACK4INDUSTRY enters the second round in 2024: this time, the Autostadt in Wolfsburg presents a challenge in the field of e-mobility: participants must convert e-charging into a holistic experience. They present their ideas at HANNOVER MESSE on 25 April and have the chance to realize their idea with Autostadt in Wolfsburg afterwards. Co-organizer of HACK4INDUSTRY is Prototype Club from Munich.

The complete program for both stages is available at: https://www.hannovermesse.de/event/industrial-startup-stages/for/106944 .

HANNOVER MESSE

HANNOVER MESSE is the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology. Its lead theme “Energizing a Sustainable Industry” brings together exhibiting companies from mechanical and electrical engineering, the digital industry and the energy sector to present solutions for the future of manufacturing and energy supply. Leading topics include Industrie 4.0/Manufacturing-X, energy for industry, digitalization/artificial intelligence and machine learning, carbon-neutral production, and hydrogen and fuel cells. Conferences and forums complement the program. The next edition runs from 22 to 26 April 2024 in Hannover, Germany. Norway is Partner Country.