Nominations for Electrifying Ideas Award have been announced

With the Electrifying Ideas Award, the ZVEI honors innovations that use energy efficiently, conserve resources and at the same time have an economic and social impact. "The number and quality of the ideas submitted impressed us again this year," says ZVEI President Dr. Gunther Kegel. "As different as the nominated projects are, they all have one thing in common: they show how energy can be used more intelligently and how material usage can be effectively reduced. This is precisely the kind of solution that Germany needs as an industrial location - in the face of scarce raw materials, rising energy costs and geopolitical uncertainties that are putting supply chains under increasing pressure."

The nominees for the Electrifying Ideas Award 2026

Philips, Hamburg: With the 'BlueSeal' technology, Philips is reducing the use of the scarce raw material helium in magnetic resonance imaging by over 99.5 percent. Instead of up to 1500 liters, the sealed magnets only require seven liters of helium - completely sealed and without the need for refilling over their entire service life. This lowers resource consumption, reduces dependencies on critical supply chains and cuts installation and operating costs. Over 2000 systems have already been installed worldwide. In addition, technological developments enable energy savings of up to 30 percent. With the 'BlueSeal Horizon' presented in 2025, Philips is transferring the principle to the high-performance 3 Tesla range for the first time.

Rittal, Herborn: With 'Direct Liquid Cooling', Rittal is developing a key technology for the energy-efficient operation of AI-capable data centers. Together with the GSI Helmholtzzentrum and the start-up etalytics, a practical liquid cooling system with a cooling capacity of over 1 MW has been realized. Direct chip cooling overcomes the physical limits of conventional air cooling and enables the scalable use of high-performance GPUs. AI-based control algorithms and digital twins optimize energy consumption in real time and significantly reduce the CO₂ footprint. The project provides a tried-and-tested series concept and transferable best practice for climate-friendly AI infrastructure "Made in Europe".

ZeMA - Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology, Saarbrücken: Zema has developed a fully electric gripping technology that replaces industrial compressed air systems. At its heart are electrically activated shape memory wires that enable energy-efficient and noiseless gripping and handling processes. The technology only requires energy when gripping and depositing - not when holding - and thus achieves energy savings of up to 95 percent and weight advantages of up to 70 percent. Validations with Volkswagen led to the spin-off of nititec vacuum gripper GmbH, which is planning to start series production at the end of 2026. The solution enables new, compressed air-free production concepts and demonstrates the successful transfer of research into industrial application.

The winner will be honored at the eSummit on May 20, 2026 in Berlin. The prize will be awarded by Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space.