Trade fairs and events
Trade fairs and events ACHEMA ACHEMA 2022: The global meeting place for the process industries on site in Frankfurt again After ACHEMA Pulse 2021 – the pioneering digital event for the process industries – ACHEMA 2022 is back in Frankfurt: once again from 22 to 26 August 2022, the Frankfurt Fairground will be the meeting place for the global process industries. In times of the pandemic, a comprehensive hygiene concept ensures that networking is possible in a safe environment on site. In 2022, Trendsetting technology and global networking will continue to characterise the world's leading trade fair. Manufacturers and service providers from almost 50 nations will present their products and services for the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, energy and environmental sectors. Company founders and young entrepreneurs will meet in the Start-up Area. “After a two-year dry spell, the need for in-depth professional and personal exchange is palpable”, says Dr Thomas Scheuring, CEO of DECHEMA Ausstellungs-GmbH. With the focal topics “The Digital Lab”, “Product and Process Security” and “Modular and Connected Production”, ACHEMA 2022 will address the issues that are preying on the mind of the process industries. The Digital Lab Laboratories in industry and research are increasingly fitted with Internet of Things (IoT)-equipment. Robots that relieve staff from mundane and repetitive tasks such as serial pipetting are already state-of-the-art. Yet, smart digital workflows in a fully connected lab are still a long way off most of the time. Achieving this goal requires a powerful IT environment and a fully integrated equipment at least and could go as far as changing the layout of the lab space. Research labs and quality assurance labs may Fig. 1: Laboratory Systems – Workbenches (Photo © : DECHEMA e.V./Jean-Luc Valentin) follow different approaches. Thus a modular setup is as desirable for the lab as it is for production plants. Also, both lab types are generating a huge amount of data whose analysis calls for a big data approach. Product and Process Security IoT-devices are increasingly becoming part of operation and production processes. With every valve that has an IT interface and with every “intelligent” pump sending data to the cloud, IT- and cybersecurity is rising to the top of the list of things to be concerned about. While occupational safety systems are well established and the number of accidents in which a person is injured is decreasing steadily, cyberattacks are becoming all the more prevalent. Industry 4.0 and IoT call for an intensified effort to make interfaces between the physical and the virtual world secure. Identifying, assessing and addressing the vulnerabilities of your business is the first step towards secure products and processes. In addition, the entire value chain needs to be Fig. 2: Complete combination of Changeover valve with two safety valves (Photo © : DECHEMA e.V./Helmut Stettin) covered, starting from the procurement of raw materials and reaching as far as the recycling of products at the end of their life. Modular and Connected Production Manufacturing processes in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry need to be flexible, fast and 76 PROCESS TECHNOLOGY & COMPONENTS 2022
Trade fairs and events ACHEMA cost-efficient. This is best achieved with modular process skids, which can be pre-fabricated and tested in the workshop and then assembled on site. Skids are available with their own programmable logic controller or can be integrated into an overarching process control system. The automation industry is working on an open standard interface – such a module type package (MTP) will allow for true interoperability. Modular plants are the key to meeting the customers’ needs for small batches of varying products. They allow for an effortless adjustment of the plant design to ever-changing requirements and are also the way to change from batch to continuous production. In addition, the mega topics of digitalisation and climate neutrality are moving even more into the focus of ACHEMA with the “Digital Hub” and the “Green Innovation Zone”. Closer integration between exhibition and congress programme For the first time, ACHEMA 2022 will also fully integrate the congress into the exhibition programme: All lecture sessions will take place either on stages directly in the exhibition halls or in the immediate vicinity of the exhibition groups. Furthermore, there willl be five Theme Days at the congress instead of three as in previous years. This ensures that none of the topics that are of concern to the process industries will be left out. “True to the ACHEMA motto 'Inspiring Sustainable Connections', we are bringing together what belongs together,” says Dr Andreas Förster, Managing Director of DECHEMA and thus organiser of ACHEMA, “Application and research will go even more hand in hand at ACHEMA 2022 thanks to the closer thematic and spatial integration of the exhibition and congress programme.” Five instead of three Theme Days The “Hydrogen Economy” will kickoff on Monday (22 August 2022): Hydrogen will play a pivotal role in the transformation of the process industries, transportation sector and the energy system towards greenhouse gas neutrality. The focus of the first Theme Day will therefore be how further potential can be leveraged in the future. Fossil-free production is an important and ambitious goal for reducing the process industries‘ greenhouse gas emissions. While the idea of fossil-free production is simple, there are many unanswered questions. These will be addressed by the “Fossil Free Production” Theme Day on Tuesday (23 August 2022). The focal topic of ACHEMA “The Digital Lab” will touched upon on the Theme Day on Wednesday (24 August 2022) with “Perspectives in Laboratory & Analytics”: The highlight session and the congress complement the visit to ACHEMA on this topic. The perennial topic of “Digitalisation in Process Industry” will be featured in the new exhibition group “Digital Hub” (Hall 12.1), as well as a focal point on the agenda of the congress programme on Thursday (25 August 2022). The last day of the congress on Friday (26 August 2022) will focus on “Novel Bioprocesses and Technologies”: New biopharmaceuticals, biobased fine chemicals or biotechnological recycling – they all demand novel (production) processes. ACHEMA 2022 will also be the global showcase for these developments. ACHEMA Congress 2022 with more than 115 sessions At the ACHEMA Congress, researchers, developers and users meet to discuss the latest technical developments and solutions for the current challenges of the process industries. All in all, the ACHEMA 2022 Congress will feature more than 115 sessions. While the congress sessions focus on application-oriented research and development from proof-of-concept to the threshold of market entry, the PRAXISforums focus on current issues from production, best practices and ready-to-use technologies in short presentations – always with the application in mind. Together with the exhibition and the closer integration of the congress in 2022, ACHEMA offers the full 360-degree perspective on all trends and technologies in the process industries. ACHEMA www.achema.de Fig. 3: Panel Discussion: Plastic-Free Europe (Photo © : DECHEMA e.V./Jean-Luc Valentin) PROCESS TECHNOLOGY & COMPONENTS 2022 77
