An independent jury chaired by professor Reimund Neugebauer, president of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, nominated Bosch Rexroth, Phoenix Contact and Pilz for the 2021 Hermes Award. The winner will be announced at the Hannover Messe Digital Edition on Apr 12.
Deutsche Messe honors a company every year whose product or solution has a high level of technological innovation. Only solutions that have already been tried and tested in industry are eligible.
"The current conditions and uncertainties due to the ongoing corona pandemic did not reach the Hermes Award 2021," said Neugebauer. "Numerous applications met our criteria of technical degree of innovation; benefits for industry, the environment and society; and economic viability and market-readiness. The projects of the three nominees all stand for dynamic development in mechanical engineering as well as the innovative ability of the high-tech location Germany."
Bosch Rexroth was nominated for its SVA R2 (Subsea-Valve_Actuator) project. This project is the world's first electrical actuator for controlling process valves under water. The SVA R2 offers an energy-efficient and safe alternative to the pneumatic actuators previously used in offshore oil and gas production. There are no central unit or kilometers of lines for fluid, which reduces environmental risks. The unit maintains the same dimensions, can be integrated directly on site, increases energy efficiency and only requires a power supply and a data line.
Phoenix Contact is nominated for NearFi technology, which enables contact-free transmission of energy and data and can replace previous plug connections. Thanks to protocol-independent and latency-free Ethernet communication, it offers flexible application options for all Ethernet protocols up to 100 Mbit/s. Transmission takes place in real time in both directions.
PILZ is nominated for its product myPNOZ, which is a new type of modular safety switching device that is manufactured in batch size 1. Using an online tool, users can put together their product without any programming knowledge, as the logic of the safety functions is defined by the module selection and the sequence in which they are connected. The product is a ready-to-install and completely individualized system.
