How EIC-backed deeptech took centre stage at Hannover Messe 2023

Between 17 and 21 April 2023 Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial technology trade fair, hosted an EIC Pavilion that brought together a curated delegation of EIC funded small and medium sized enterprises, startups and scaleups. The event drew more than 2,500 exhibiting companies, over 650 speakers and some 66,000 visitors from 173 countries. The pavilion highlighted industrial deeptech in areas such as energy management, automation, machine learning, artificial intelligence and data driven manufacturing.

What the EIC Pavilion presented

The EIC Pavilion presented technologies positioned to address pressing societal challenges while aiming to strengthen Europe’s industrial competitiveness. The thematic focus included energy efficient production, industrial automation, AI and machine learning applied to manufacturing, and networked, data driven production processes. For participating companies the fair was framed as a chance to network with industry decision makers, potential partners and investors.

Who exhibited from the EIC delegation

Twenty EIC funded teams formed the EIC Pavilion delegation at Hannover Messe. They represented a mix of early and later stage companies from across the EU and associated countries. The list below is drawn from the EIC selection for the trade fair.

Voices from the pavilion and event partners

Veronica Beneitez Piñero, Deputy Head of Unit for EIC Transition Activities and Business Acceleration Services at EISMEA, spoke on the DG GROW stage about the EIC’s role. She framed the EIC as an agency that helps "breakthrough European companies identify, develop and scale up game changing technologies" and argued that EU backing can generate competitive advantage at the global level. She also said the EIC supports both social impact and an economic revolution in digital technologies with the aim of making Europe an engine for market leading firms.

Hannover Messe leaders echoed a similar message. Ulrike Hammer, Senior Project Director Trade Fair and Product Management at Hannover Messe, described the EIC as a natural partner for the show and stressed the value of the pavilion’s diversity. Her practical advice to participating startups was straightforward. She recommended completing exhibitor profiles online, using the complimentary online tickets and preparing for the physical scale of the show. She also warned first time attendees to expect a large venue and to plan meetings and mobility accordingly.

High level visitors to the EIC Pavilion included MEP Reinhard Bütikofer, DG GROW Director General Kerstin Jorna, Deputy Director General Maive Rute and the German Minister for European Affairs and Regional Development Wiebke Osigus. Their presence signalled political interest in the EIC effort to accelerate industrial innovation but did not by itself validate commercial outcomes.

EIC Overseas Trade Fairs Programme 2.0 and broader programmes

The EIC Pavilion at Hannover Messe was part of the EIC Overseas Trade Fairs Programme 2.0. The programme aimed to support EIC funded SMEs and startups to internationalise by attending selected trade fairs in 2022 and 2023 across EU and extra EU markets. Building on a pilot from 2017 to 2018, OTF 2.0 promised support at 15 international trade fairs. The EIC positioned the programme as a way to help beneficiaries develop commercialisation strategies, boost visibility and access new markets.

What the announcements did not show

Public accounts of the pavilion emphasised opportunity and alignment between the EIC and Hannover Messe. They did not provide independent metrics on outcomes. The original EIC coverage did not report the number of leads generated, follow up meetings scheduled, contracts signed or investment rounds closed as a direct consequence of the fair. Without post event data it is difficult to measure the commercial impact and return on public support for trade fair participation.

There are additional practical constraints to consider. Attending major trade fairs is expensive. Costs include travel, accommodations, booth logistics and staff time. For deeptech companies these costs can be proportionally large and may divert resources from product development. Programmes that subsidise trade fair participation can lower the barrier but long term impact depends on how well participants convert exposure into measurable business outcomes.

Implications for EU innovation policy and industrial strategy

Trade fairs remain a visible instrument for supporting commercialisation and internationalisation of EU startups. They are useful for branding, networking and market discovery. For policymakers the key question is how such interventions fit into an end to end scaling strategy that includes finance, standards, procurement pipelines and international market access. The EIC’s role as an enabler has promise but should be evaluated against concrete performance indicators such as export contracts, manufacturing partnerships, jobs created and private capital mobilised.

Next steps and follow up

EIC planned a following delegation to BIO 2023 in Boston from 5 to 8 June 2023 under the same OTF 2.0 framework. The EIC Community online portal and social channels were signposted as places to find open calls, event updates and stories. For public programmes such as the EIC’s trade fair initiatives independent, longitudinal evaluation of outcomes would improve transparency and help refine selection and support criteria.

In short, Hannover Messe 2023 provided EIC innovators with a high profile stage and access to industrial audiences. The real test will be whether visibility and political attention convert into sustained commercial traction and measurable industrial transformation across European value chains.