At the heart of the multifunctional hall in the Hungexpo congress and exhibition center in Budapest are 43 mobile platforms with over 2,000 seats. Similar to synchronized swimmers, the rows of seats on 1,800^m2 take on different formations in just a few minutes - thanks to an electromechanical lifting device equipped with Series 3400 energy chains and energy and data cables from the 'Chainflex' range from Igus. At the touch of a button, open rows of seats, a tiered cinema-like arrangement or a stage with an orchestra pit can be created. Automation that makes it possible to stage several different large-scale events in one day with minimal effort.

The Vector Award is presented by energy chain specialist Igus every two years to recognize the most exciting energy chain applications in the world. The 'Transformer' hall prevailed against 232 entries from 36 countries among the jury representatives from the specialist media, industry and research. Gepber Szinpad received the gold Vector Award 2022 and 5,000 euros in prize money at the award ceremony at the Hannover Messe.

The silver Vector Award 2022

The silver Vector Award 2022 and 2,500 euros in prize money went to Rhenac GreenTec. The company from Hennef near Bonn built a turf lighting system for the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen. The system consists of a large portal that moves up and down the soccer pitch on two rails at the edge of the pitch. On the underside of the portal are lamps that supply the pitch with LED grow lights. In order to protect the energy and data cables of the outdoor system from UV radiation, rain and temperature fluctuations, the engineers use Igus 5050RHD energy chains for the gantries, as well as the 'e-spool' system for the vertical adjustment of the lamp holders - an alternative to a cable drum that works without a slip ring.

The bronze Vector Award

In the Indian village of Banawala, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited has built a coal-based thermal power plant with a capacity of 1980 MW with a huge bucket wheel excavator that extracts the delivered coal piles and transports them to the boiler via conveyor belts. It moves along a rail system that has one of the longest energy chain systems in the world. The power cables follow the bucket wheel excavator over a distance of 700 m - inserted in a heavy-duty roller chain from the 5050RHD series from Igus and thus protected from flying coal. The jury honored the application with the bronze Vector Award and 1,000 euros in prize money.

The green Vector Award

Dercks Gartenbau from Geldern has developed an automatic watering trolley that moves along a rail at a speed of 18 m per minute and supplies plants with water and the nutrients dissolved in it using two booms with a span width of 45 m. The watering trolley is guided by water hoses. The engineers use Series 3500 energy chains from Igus to guide the water hoses. The system works so precisely that water consumption is reduced by around 60 % compared to conventional irrigation. For this reason, Dercks Gartenbau received the green Vector Award for sustainable projects and a prize of 1,000 euros.