April 8, 2026 — HANNOVER MESSE is positioning the industrial application of artificial intelligence at the center of industrial policy considerations in Germany and Europe. Under the banner "AI in Industry," the trade show brings the worlds of industry, technology and politics together in a united front — with the shared goal of accelerating AI adoption across manufacturing, infrastructure and industrial value chains.
The focus will be on a format featuring a high-caliber line-up on the Center Stage of HANNOVER MESSE on April 20, jointly organized by the trade fair and the "Made for Germany" initiative.
The "Made for Germany" initiative brings together 126 leading companies and investors with the objective of strengthening Germany as a business location, attracting investment and securing sustainable growth – through close collaboration between industry, government and civil society. Between 2025 and 2028, its members will invest more than 800 billion euros in Germany, directed at innovation, research, infrastructure, job creation and the accelerated deployment of artificial intelligence.
Leading representatives of German industry – likely joined by Chancellor Friedrich Merz – will discuss how to scale up AI from strategy to widespread industrial application, building on the existing strengths of German companies in automation, mechanical engineering, industrial software and systems integration.
Participants include DAX CEOs Roland Busch (Siemens); Christian Klein (SAP); Tim Höttges (Deutsche Telekom); Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture; and Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman of the Board of Directors, Schneider Electric. The discussion will focus on industrial data spaces, AI infrastructure and real-world applications in manufacturing and value creation — as well as on the conditions that need to be established now to enable the effective scaling of industrial AI across Germany and Europe.
The event will close with a joint industrial policy statement by "Made for Germany," identifying the key conditions required for scaling industrial AI – spanning infrastructure, investment and real-world application — while also highlighting the existing strengths of German companies on which this next stage of growth can be built.
In the further course of the day, several members of the German government will delve deeper into key aspects of "AI in Industry." Karsten Wildberger, Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernization, will address the role of digital infrastructure, cloud systems and data ecosystems in industrial transformation.
Speaking under the title of "Resilient Value Creation," Boris Pistorius, Federal Minister of Defense, will highlight the importance of technological modernization for security and robust industrial structures. Dorothee Bär, Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space, will turn the spotlight on innovation dynamics, startups and the transfer of knowledge between research and industry. Katherina Reiche, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, will place AI and Physical AI in the focus of a business roundtable at HANNOVER MESSE, linking the topic to the pressing questions of competitiveness, investment and emerging growth sectors.
The exceptionally broad political involvement reflects the real-world relevance of the topic — and the role HANNOVER MESSE plays as a leading industrial platform for precisely this direction of dialog.
HANNOVER MESSE sends a clear message: artificial intelligence has long since outgrown its status as a purely technological topic. It is becoming a strategic infrastructure issue — and central to industrial value creation, security and economic growth across Germany and Europe.
About HANNOVER MESSE
HANNOVER MESSE is the world's leading trade fair for the manufacturing industry. Roughly 3,000 exhibiting companies from the electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, digital and energy sectors come together to present solutions for competitive and sustainable industry. The main exhibition areas are Automation & Digitalization, Energy & Industrial Infrastructure and Research & Technology Transfer. The topic artificial intelligence is a common thread through all exhibition areas. A diverse conference program enhances the fair. The next edition runs in Hannover from 20 to 24 April 2026. Brazil is Partner Country.