Automechanika Innovation Award winners announced
Yesterday at Automechanika Frankfurt their Innovation Awards were presented to the winners at the ceremony.
In addition to these eight awards, which were presented in categories such as E-Mobility, Workshop & Service Solutions and Data & Connectivity, a Green Award was given to the product judged to be especially sustainable.
The winners of the Innovation Awards were chosen from a total of 133 candidates. The products and solutions submitted were evaluated by an international panel of 14 experts.
They examined various criteria, including the degree of innovation, cost effectiveness, user-friendliness, functionality, relevance to the aftermarket, safety and quality, as well as contributions to environmental protection and sustainability.
This year’s award-winning products revealed a clear focus on digitalisation, new mobility and sustainability. Winners included smart solutions for workshops and automotive technology, including an app that allows spare parts to be found and ordered quickly and reliably, and online-supported systems for damage diagnostics.
A recovery system for damaged e-cars, a rapid charging station with a maximum output power of 240 kW, and a system for reducing braking torque were also among the award winners.
To honour the most ecologically sustainable innovation among the submitted products, this year’s Green Award went to GelKoh for LiBa Rescue, a recovery system for e-cars that helps to conserve resources.
Companies from the automotive aftermarket were able to submit their innovations in the following categories: Workshop & Service Solutions, Parts & Technology Solutions, Accessories & Customising, and Commercial Vehicles.
The winners
Category: Workshop & Service Solutions
GelKoh GmbH
LiBa Rescue
This innovative recovery system for electric vehicles is heat-resistant up to 1,500 °C and works in much the same way as a fire blanket. In a fire incident or as a preventive measure, the damaged vehicle is pushed on top of the recovery system, after which the recovery system is wrapped around the vehicle.
Although the recovery system is not able to prevent chemical reactions in the battery itself, it makes it difficult for a hot battery to set other flammable substances in the vehicle alight by limiting the supply of oxygen, allowing it to prevent the total write-off of a vehicle.
Category: Parts & Technology Solutions
Knorr-Bremse Systeme für Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH
Braking Torque Reduction System
The braking torque reduction system helps to reduce CO2 emissions, lowers fuel consumption, and lessens the level of fine particulates by lowering brake pad wear. It will be possible to retrofit all standard Knorr-Bremse brake systems on the market with this system in future.
Category: Accessories & Customising
Dropracks AS
Dropracks Elevating Roof Racks
Innovative roof rack system for cars in which the loading surface (i.e. the rack) is not permanently attached to the base rack on the vehicle’s roof. Instead, a clever kinematic mechanism makes it possible to pull out the rack and lower it to chest level. The result: bulky items like bicycles, kayaks and ladders can be loaded and secured easily.
Category: Commercial Vehicles
ZF Friedrichshafen AG
ZF Aftermarket Turning Assistance System CV Retrofit Solution
A novel new turning and lane change assistant that rises above other systems thanks to the fact that its sensor system combines radar with optical sensors. In poor weather conditions, such as heavy rain, fog or snow when the camera is unable to supply reliable information, the radar is supplemented by a second sensor system.
