“In almost all industry segments, companies have reacted quickly to the current challenges and aim to contribute to greater energy efficiency with numerous new developments,” says LogiMAT trade fair director Michael Ruchty. The supporting program, running from April 25 to 27, will also play its part.
In addition to automation and digitalization, the growing trend towards resource efficiency has become essential for the economic situation in industry and logistics. "In Stuttgart, the international exhibitors are demonstrating how sustainable business practices and the responsible use of resources are possible through investment in suitable products and solutions," says Ruchty. "Whether this involves modernizing or optimizing existing systems or purchasing new ones."
In fact, the logistics and intralogistics sectors see themselves as pioneers in energy saving and resource conservation – for example, as "pioneers of the circular economy," as the title of a conference by Johannes Fottner, head of the Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow and Logistics (fml) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) suggests. On April 26, Swisslog will also be present with a program item entitled "Sustainability Beyond Greenwashing and Greenwishing: How Logistics Can Make a Difference," focusing on energy efficiency and CO2 reduction. Regarding
energy, an important trend is apparently moving away from shuttle-based automated small parts storage (AS/RS) systems in favor of alternative energy-saving solutions. For example, a robotics-supported, compact storage and order picking solution called "Skypod" for small parts storage can be further designed with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind. All drives directly controlled by the company's material flow software are designed to operate with particularly low energy consumption. The robots used for the storage and order picking solution operate with energy recuperation, a sleep mode when order volume is reduced, and, thanks to lightweight construction, low energy consumption.
The approach taken by system integrator Element Logic (Hall 1, Booth 1H21) is similar. Their conveyor technology is based on energy-efficient drive systems. "Our roller motors are only activated and set in motion when needed," says Chief Strategist Joachim Kieninger. There, too, the robots operate with low energy consumption and energy recovery during work processes. According to the manufacturer, ten AutoStore robots consume only as much energy as a vacuum cleaner.
Klinkhammer Intralogistics (Hall 1, Booth 1C67) is also coming to Stuttgart with a concept for "greater sustainability and a long-term economic solution through the optimization of energy and space consumption." Space-optimized automated systems enable very compact storage, while lightweight shuttle robots reduce the masses moved and allow for further energy savings, for example, through the use of supercapacitors.
“To strengthen our customers’ competitiveness, we offer energy-efficient technologies with energy recuperation and storage, sustainable storage systems, machines for resource-saving sawing processes, and resource-saving retrofits,” explains Armin Stolzer, Managing Director of Kasto Maschinenbau (Hall 1, Booth 1H16), describing the company’s sustainability-focused product range. In Stuttgart, the company will present software solutions for the digitalization and design of energy-efficient intralogistics processes. The “energysave” platform also addresses recuperation, which converts excess kinetic energy into electricity and stores it for later use.
For industrial trucks, the key to energy efficiency lies in the transmission and drive technology. An optimized transmission for the respective truck size reduces energy consumption. In addition to ergonomics, user-friendliness, safety, cost-effectiveness, driver comfort, and reliability, drive technology will play a leading role in the future development of industrial trucks. Supported by energy recovery systems and high-frequency charging technology, alternative lithium-ion, fuel cell, and hydrogen technologies will continue to gain importance in the context of energy efficiency. Forklift manufacturer Cesab relies on a parallel offering of conventional and alternative sustainable lithium-ion batteries for the drive technology of many electric forklifts. For example, the manufacturer offers its own lithium-ion solution as an alternative drive technology for the entire B-series of its electric forklifts, such as the "B600" presented for the first time at LogiMAT.
Photos: Euroexpo
The high importance of sustainability and energy efficiency in intralogistics is reflected not only in the exhibitors' displays but also in several lecture series within the LogiMAT supporting program. For example, high-profile forums in the atrium of the LogiMAT Arena will discuss topics such as sustainability benefits in transport and shipping packaging (April 25), the circular economy (April 25), and intralogistics trends (April 27). In addition, exhibitor presentations in the two forum areas in Halls 5 and 6, such as "Automated channel storage systems for reducing CO2 emissions and optimizing costs" (Hall 5, April 25, 12:30 p.m.) and the aforementioned Swisslog presentation, will shed light on complex topics.
