"China is a partner of enormous importance to us, with whom close cooperation is very fruitful but also absolutely necessary in order to advance the international development of standardization," says Michael Teigeler from VDE|DKE.

© VDE / Bernd Euring

Close cooperation with China is necessary in order to drive forward the international development of standardization, says Michael Teigeler, Managing Director of VDE|DKE, the standardization organization supported by VDE. He adds: "VDE|DKE plays a key role in determining technological progress internationally." There should be closer cooperation on topics such as digital twins, artificial intelligence in industrial applications, IT security, functional safety and predictive maintenance. Both sides also support the initiation of German-Chinese Industry 4.0 testbeds to promote an agile approach to standardization. "We have also agreed to continue and intensify the exchange of information and bilateral cooperation on current and new standardization topics in electromobility," reports Teigeler.

Both parties have agreed to cooperate on ethical aspects in the standardization context of autonomous systems in order to jointly support the development of a standardization direction. The Sino-German Standardization Organization SAC has also decided to strengthen cooperation in the field of standardization of battery systems with a focus on functional safety, system safety, certification and the transport of batteries. According to the DCKN, cooperation is to be entered into in the field of quantum technology in order to address the lack of standards and ensure that innovations are driven forward at an international level.

International consortium ICIM founded

Together with other organizations - including the Intelligent Manufacturing Alliance of CAST Member Societies (IMAC), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) - VDE|DKE has founded the International Coalition of Intelligent Manufacturing (ICIM). The aim of ICIM is to support communication and cooperation between industrial companies worldwide on their way to the digital factory. To this end, the organizations have established an Academic Committee to promote exchange between universities, research institutions and industrial companies in the field of smart factories.