MANUFUTURE-DE

Under the lead of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), more than 140 representatives from industry and science as well as the relevant industry associations dealt with the identification of priority research topics and measures for sustainable and practice-oriented innovation support. Challenges and research needs were identified, evaluated and prioritized in a total of seven industry workshops, online surveys and around 50 expert interviews. The result is a strategic research agenda for the manufacturing industry by 2030. This agenda consists of three strategic pillars and includes ten action areas structured in subordinate research fields. These are each detailed by further theses and target states. A total of 279 research topics were identified, assessed for their technological maturity and their strategic relevance, and arranged in chronological order. Ultimately, the iterative discussion and prioritization process made concrete recommendations for policy and business.