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.
HERMES AWARD Gewinner 2026
Schaeffler wins the 2026 HERMES AWARD
This year, the prestigious HERMES AWARD goes to Schaeffler. The industrial group receives this coveted innovation prize in recognition of its platform for highly integrated actuators. An independent jury chaired by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer Society, selected the winner from among three nominated companies. The award was presented by Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space, during the official opening of HANNOVER MESSE on April 19, 2026, in the presence of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The award honors a platform for highly integrated actuators, designed especially for use in the articulation joints of humanoid robots. The platform includes high-efficiency servo electric motors with integrated power electronics and encoders, and can be configured with two-stage planetary gear units or shaft-mounted gear units, depending on the customer's requirements. Throughout the development of the actuators, the overriding objective was to achieve minimum installation space while delivering high continuous torque.
The installation footprint has been reduced by approximately 20 percent compared to the latest solutions currently on the market. The copper fill factor in the frameless PSM machine was increased to ensure a low temperature level at high torques. The actuator platform significantly reduces system costs, thereby creating a key prerequisite for the rapid scaling of service robotics. The platform is a key component in helping robotics develop its vast potential in an excellent ecosystem that involves goods production and a strong industrial sector.
HERMES Startup AWARD Winner 2026
HERMES Startup AWARD 2026 goes to Swiss startup BTRY
This year, the coveted HERMES Startup Award goes to a young Swiss company. The startup impressed the independent jury with the ultra-thin, fully flexible solid-state batteries they have developed. The product in question is an outstanding innovation in the form of ultra-thin solid-state batteries. These combine fast charging, high temperature resistance, and an exceptional level of safety; indeed, they outperform conventional lithium-ion cells on all these counts.
By applying production technologies from the semiconductor industry to battery manufacturing, BTRY has achieved a groundbreaking advance in the global shift toward smaller, safer, and more durable energy storage solutions – paving the way for the next generation of smart devices. These include wireless IoT sensors, wearables, and applications in the field of medical technology.
The production process is entirely free of toxic solvents and is characterized by low material consumption. These batteries can operate at temperatures of up to 150 °C and, with a thickness starting at just 0.1 mm, can be fully charged and discharged within one minute.
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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