The robotics and automation sector in Germany will generate sales of 13.4 billion euros in 2021, an increase of 11%, according to the latest forecast from the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association, which highlights that while 2020 was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 18% decline in sales was less than had been expected.

Wilfried Eberhardt, chairman of VDMA Robotics + Automation, said: “The forecast for the current year shows a strong recovery and signifies a positive turning point for the industry. Order books in particular are currently filling up fast, and even better sales figures will be achievable if the current supply bottlenecks for key components can be quickly overcome.

“The outlook into 2022 is excellent, with many complex projects now starting up; and with the current momentum, the chances are good that next year we will achieve — or even exceed — the record result of 2018.”

Data from VDMA Robotics + Automation show that the three sub-sectors developed differently in 2020: robotics revenue decreased by 23% to 3.1 billion euros; integrated assembly solutions recorded a decline in sales of 20% to 6.4 billion euros; while the machine vision sector lost a comparatively small 4%, with sales of 2.6 billion euros. Overall, the revenues of the complete Robotics and Automation sector declined by 18%.

Mr Eberhardt said the robotics and automation business is characterised by strong pent-up demand: “Investments were postponed in the course of the pandemic but are now filling the order books. The transformation on the way to climate neutrality and a sustainable use of resources is also generating new business, and robotics and automation are increasingly proving to be key technologies.

“For example, in agriculture, low-cost field robots are helping to locate weeds using artificial intelligence and eliminate them selectively with lasers; and in order to produce fuel cells for hydrogen-powered cars in the future in a cost- and energy-saving manner, the industry is relying on automation technology.

“Furthermore, ‘intelligent automation’ is reducing the cost of producing the powerful batteries that are a core technology for decarbonisation in the transport sector, in industrial production, in stationary storage technology and for the stabilisation of electricity grids.”