Achema 2024 will take place in Frankfurt from June 10 to 14, 2024. This means that the heart of the process industry will be beating again at the usual time and in the usual rhythm. Dr. Bernd Rademacher spoke to Dr Björn Mathes, CEO of Dechema Ausstellungs-GmbH, about the highlights of this year‘s event.
Dr. Mathes, just as the European Football Championship brings nations together to celebrate their passion for the sport, ACHEMA also unites professionals from all over the world around innovations and progress in the process industry. Frankfurt is one of the main venues for the preliminary round. Thousands of international fans will populate the city in the second half of June. Would you like the same for your ACHEMA 2024?
Dr Mathes: Achema 2024 will once again be the gathering place for the process technology community and, unlike the European Men‘s Football Championship, we are bringing together professionals and experts from all over the world, far beyond Europe. This year’s Achema has the highest rate of international exhibitors ever and it is becoming apparent that we might see the same trend on the attendee side. Above all, we are registering high demand from markets with strong investment potential such as North America or the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the dynamic Asian markets. This makes Frankfurt not only one of the host cities for UEFA Euro 2024, but also the only place where you can really feel the heartbeat of the process industry. And Achema is much closer in nature to another major sporting event of the year: the Olympics.
Can you give us an overview of the core topics and focal points of ACHEMA 2024?
Dr Mathes: The overarching themes are sustainability, the path to climate-neutral production and digitalization. For me digitalization and digital innovations are a key enabler, while the net-zero target for the process industry is the most ambitious task in its history. The innovations developed in the process industry also have an impact on other industries and help them to achieve their sustainability goals. This makes the Achema-Community an important trailblazer towards climate-neutral production.
Sustainability at Achema is multi-layered, we talk about hydrogen, circular economy, industrial water and wastewater technology, bioeconomy and renewable raw materials but also decentralized energy generation for production sites. In addition, ACHEMA will of course retain its traditional focus on chemical and pharmaceutical process engineering with numerous world firsts that can be experienced on the show floor.
Which new trends and technologies will be highlighted at Achema 2024?
Dr Mathes: The Congress programme is clustered into six innovation themes: process, pharma, green, lab, hydrogen and digital. There are numerous innovations in all themes that will influence and shape the future of the process industry. These include, among others, advances in modularization, networked production around Ethernet APL, the production of biopharmaceuticals or cell and gene therapeutics, increased automation and robotics, digitalization and unified data standards in the laboratory, as well as the opportunities around hydrogen for and in the process industry.
How will the exhibition help to address the challenges of sustainability and climate change?
Dr Mathes: The process industry faces many challenges. The goal of climate-neutral production and defossilization of the industry is certainly the biggest and most ambitious challenge in the history of the process industry and requires global networks. This is exactly what the most international Achema ever will promote: The numerous technical discussions at the stands and around the presentations will provide the industry with a sustainability impulse that will point the way for the coming years. Many of the technology trends of recent years originated at ACHEMA, and that will be the case again this time.
What role will digital technologies and artificial intelligence play?
Dr Mathes: They play a major role. Everyone has been talking about the digitalization of the industry for almost a decade. At first, it was little more than a big buzz word, often with examples from dedicated manufacturing that were difficult or impossible to implement in the process industry. However, our industry has now embarked on a learning curve and digitalization continues to advance. The introduction of digital innovations such as smart data analytics or Industry 4.0 technologies is becoming increasingly important in order to stay ahead of the competition. But digitalization is also in demand as an enabler for achieving sustainability goals. This will not be without its challenges: IT vs. OT, connectivity vs. security or smart vs. smart enough – the challenge for operators is to find exactly the right configuration for their company and needs. Solutions based on artificial intelligence have become increasingly important since the media hype surrounding ChatGPT and are also playing a role at a number of ACHEMA stands this year. Our peer group is currently taking a critical look at such technologies, especially in view of safety and security aspects.
Renovation work was carried out at the exhibition grounds for Achema 2022. As a result, the traditional exhibition groups were somewhat disorganised. Mechanical Process Engineering, for example, had to move to Hall 12. What will it look like in 2024? Who will exhibit where?
Dr Mathes: Yes, Mechanical Processes had to temporarily move to Hall 12 due to the new construction of Hall 5 in 2022 but is now back in Halls 5.0 and 6.0 and will once again form a close tandem with Thermal Processes.
The exhibition group Pharmaceutical, Packaging and Storage Techniques has now been extended to Hall 4.1, giving it optimal growth prospects.
Laboratory and Analytical Techniques also has a new home in Hall 12 is thus moving much closer to process analysis and automation in Hall 11. Furthermore, Industrial and Labour Safety will be located in Hall 11 for the first time.
Are there certain industries or sectors that will be more strongly represented at ACHEMA 2024 than in previous years?
Dr Mathes: Pharmaceutical, Packaging and Storage Techniques will be the largest exhibition group at Achema 2024 for the first time. Although, the technologies specifically designed for the life science and pharmaceutical sectors that will be exhibited go far beyond this exhibition group. This once again underlines the strong standing that Achema has built up in the global pharmaceutical industry over the past.
We also see that the topic of decentralized and sustainable energy generation for the process industry is coming more into focus and is playing a major role in achieving climate neutrality at individual sites.
Hydrogen, digitalisation, modular production, cybersecurity: the topics currently affecting the industry are diverse. Will there be some special exhibition areas on these topics again in 2024? What are they and where can they be found?
Dr Mathes: Yes, Hall 6.0 is home to the special show Hydrogen. The smallest molecule was already the subject of a special show in 1991. But a lot has happened since then and the role of hydrogen in the global energy system is particularly prominent. In Hall 12.0, the Action Area Digital Lab will bring the digitalized and connected laboratory of the future to life. Attendees can experience on their own how digitalization, miniaturization, automation and robotics not only increase added value in the laboratory, but also close the data gap between the laboratory and the production.
I have already mentioned the innovation themes of Achema. Each one has its own Innovation Stage with an extremely exciting and top-class programme. By industry, for industry. In addition, the Modular Production and NOA theme stand in Hall 11.0, the Flow Chemistry Pavilion in Hall 9.0 and The SEFA Theatre in Hall 12.0 are three very exciting industry initiatives that should not be missed during a visit.
Every attendee should also take a look at Hall 11.1 and visit the Advanced Industrial Robotic Applications Challenge. The teams in the competition will once again push the boundaries of robot technology and bring the future of robots in the chemical industry to life. This challenge shows how the world of production and manufacturing in the process industry could change in the not-too-distant future and can only be experienced at Achema.
In 2022, you integrated the Achema Congress into the exhibition for the first time. How will the congress be structured in 2024? Which main topics or theme days will there be?
Dr Mathes: The congress is structured along our six innovation themes, which will run from Monday to Friday and give visitors the opportunity to take part in attractive presentations or discussions of thought leaders each day either on one of the Innovation Stages or in Congress sessions.
Where will the individual stages be located at the exhibition?
Dr Mathes: The Zeta Pharma Innovation Stage is located in Hall 4.1, while the stages in Hall 6.0 have a clear focus on climate neutrality: this is where you will find the EY Green Innovation Stage and the Siemens Hydrogen Innovation Stage. The GEA Process Innovation Stage is located in Hall 9.0 and the Siemens Digital Innovation Stage can once again be found in Hall 11.0, rounded off by the Lab Innovation Stage in Hall 12.0.
Dr Mathes, finally a look into the crystal ball. Who will be European football champion?
Dr Mathes: I wish I knew. Of course, I hope that the German team stays in the tournament for a long time and plays for the title with the home advantage.
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