No wireless innovations among the nominees for the 2026 HERMES AWARD
Festo, Schaeffler, and Ziehl-Abegg are on the shortlist for the HANNOVER MESSE
The jury for the HERMES AWARD 2026 has nominated three companies for the prestigious HANNOVER MESSE industry award: Festo, Schaeffler, and Ziehl-Abegg. The winner will be announced at the opening of the trade fair on April 19, 2026. The award will be presented by Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister for Research, Technology, and Space. HANNOVER MESSE 2026 will take place from April 20 to 24 in Hanover.
The HERMES AWARD is one of the most important industrial awards worldwide. It honors products and solutions with a high degree of technological innovation, with market readiness and cost-effectiveness also playing a central role. The independent jury is chaired by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer Society.
While wireless communication, industrial connectivity, and radio-based identification and sensor technologies play an important role in many industries, the 2026 shortlist takes a different approach. Solutions from the fields of microfluidics, robotics actuators, and rare-earth-free drive technology have been nominated.
Three nominees, three technology focuses
Festo was nominated for highly integrated manifolds. These are multi-layer plastic manifold plates capable of controlling, metering, mixing, and sensing fluids.
The technical innovation lies in the combination of finely structured microchannels, integrated valve and metering elements, and directly embedded sensor measurement points. The solution is designed for applications in biotechnology, medical technology, and semiconductor manufacturing.
Schaeffler has been nominated for a platform for highly integrated actuators specifically developed for the joints of humanoid robots. The platform combines servo electric motors with integrated power electronics and encoders and can be equipped with various gear variants depending on requirements. The focus was on minimizing the required installation space and achieving a high continuous torque. The solution is intended to make service robotics more economically scalable.
Ziehl-Abegg was nominated for an electric synchronous elevator motor that operates without rare-earth magnets yet still delivers high performance. Instead of critical raw materials such as neodymium or dysprosium, the company relies on ferrite magnets. The new motor design is intended to enable high torque density, smooth operation, and energy efficiency while simultaneously reducing dependence on critical raw materials.
Other Focus Areas Beyond Wireless IoT
According to the jury, the three nominees address societal and industrial challenges — ranging from more cost-effective manufacturing of medical devices to automation and robotics, and the replacement of critical materials.
The 2026 shortlist thus places a clear emphasis on deeply integrated hardware innovations, mechatronic systems, and material substitution.
For the Think WIoT audience, one thing is clear: there is no wireless technology innovation among the nominees for the HERMES AWARD 2026. This is a notable signal, especially in an industrial environment where connected sensors, RFID, BLE, RTLS, and wireless communication are becoming increasingly important.
This year’s selection thus not only highlights which technologies are currently in focus but also reveals which areas of innovation are absent from the final stage this time around.