Deutsche Messe AG has announced that entries are now open for the internationally renowned
Hermes Award, which will be presented at
Hannover Messe 2026, which is taking place 20-24 April.
Recognised as one of the most prestigious prizes for industrial innovation, the award ceremony will take place on 19 April, during the official opening of the show. All companies and institutions exhibiting at
Hannover Messe are eligible to submit entries, with the deadline set for 15 February. Alongside the main award, the ‘Hermes Startup Award’ will once again honour young, innovative companies.
An independent jury chaired by Professor Dr-Ing Holger Hanselka, president of the
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, will nominate three products for each award from among the submissions. Prof Hanselka said: “The degree of technological innovation, benefits for industry, the environment and society, as well as cost-effectiveness and implementation maturity are decisive criteria in assessing the entries.”
Boosting productivityThe
Hermes Award 2025 was presented to Siemens for its AI-driven ‘industrial copilots’ designed to enhance workforce efficiency by eliminating repetitive tasks and boosting productivity. Siemens explained that the industrial copilot for its TIA Portal engineering framework — used by over 120,000 professionals worldwide — enables engineers of all experience levels to write precise, reliable code significantly faster.
The company said: “Our suite of industrial copilots covers the entire industrial value chain from design and planning to engineering, operation, and maintenance. This solution makes generative AI accessible to a wide range of companies.”
Both cloud-based and on-premises versions are available, with the latter operating directly on the shopfloor to meet a wide range of requirements.