The nominations for the ZVEI's Electrifying Ideas Award 2024 have been announced. An independent jury has selected a total of five companies from numerous submissions. In Category 1 "Established Companies", these are MTM Ruhrzinn, Schneider Electric and Weidmüller. The ideas from Captica and Hivetop were nominated as "Newcomers". The two winners will be honoured at the eSummit on 16 May 2024 in Berlin. The award will be presented by Dr Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, as was the case at last year's premiere.
ZVEI honours innovations and solutions for energy and resource efficiency
With the Electrifying Ideas Award, the ZVEI honours innovations and solutions that take into account the efficient use of energy and resources and have a benefit for society. "The number and quality of the ideas submitted was once again impressive," says ZVEI President Dr Gunther Kegel. "As diverse as the nominated projects are, what they have in common is that they help us to utilise resources better, simplify processes or use or distribute energy more intelligently."
The nominated companies in category 1 "Established companies"
MTM Ruhrzinn, Essen
With the 'React' project, MTM Ruhrzinn has developed an efficient and environmentally friendly solution for extracting and recycling metal paste waste, in particular solder pastes containing tin. The solution makes a significant contribution to resource efficiency and the circular economy in the metalworking industry. By recovering and recycling valuable metals from waste streams, the project actively contributes to the conservation of natural resources, reduces environmental pollution and supports the sustainability and competitiveness of the industry.
Schneider Electric, Ratingen
The "HEMSlogic" home energy management system from Schneider Electric combines the visualisation and control of energy flows with efficiency by automatically regulating the energy generated and required in the home. HEMSlogic enables the optimisation of self-consumption and thus cost savings. The energy management gateway regulates the integration and automated control of renewable energy sources and thus creates a more sustainable energy supply. Existing and new components, such as wallboxes, heat pumps or air conditioning units, can be controlled in an app regardless of the manufacturer.
Weidmüller, Detmold
With the "Snap in" connection technology, Weidmüller wants to set new standards in the field of connection technology and at the same time optimise the control cabinet construction of the future. Snap in enables automatic wiring by industrial robots, which will be a central operational focus in control cabinet construction in the future due to the increasing shortage of skilled labour. The connection point is wire-ready, i.e. it is supplied pre-tensioned and open. Products with "snap in" are ready for robot-assisted, automated wiring. Processes are optimised, while resources and materials are used efficiently.
The nominees in category 2 "Newcomer"
Captica, Bad Wildbad
Time-consuming installation and complicated operation are frequently cited reasons against a smart home. This is where Captica's product vision comes in. The start-up wants to develop a tool set for electrical installers as a central intermediary between technology and users, which supports them throughout the entire smart electrical installation process. The first module for the commissioning phase supports the electrician in finding and eliminating errors and anomalies in the smart home system.
Hivetop, Berlin
The development of embedded systems is time-consuming and cost-intensive. Hivetop aims to improve the development process and lifecycle of embedded systems by developing a new type of modular operating system, cloud solutions for easy control, monitoring and maintenance, and modern development tools. All building blocks of the Hivetop ecosystem are designed to lower costs, reduce time-to-market and thus improve product and development.
Further information on the Electrifying Ideas Award can be found online at www.zvei.org/award.
