Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Photonics Congress 2014": opportunities and risks from globalisation and new social processes of innovation

Home > Press > "Photonics Congress 2014": opportunities and risks from globalisation and new social processes of innovation

Abstract:
In both Germany and internationally, photonics drives innovation. In a fiercely competitive environment, this of technology is associated with a highly dynamic evolution and a global market volume that is expected to reach about EUR 615 billion by the year 2020. In the period under review, this would equate to an average annual growth one-and-a-half times that expected for the global gross domestic product (GDP). "We are cooperating closely with the involved industrial associations and federal ministries in bringing home to politics, the press, qualified young workers, and potential investors the pre-eminent significance of this key technology in safeguarding the future," explained Thilo Brodtmann, Deputy Executive Director of the German
Engineering Federation VDMA, at the "Photonics Congress 2014" in Berlin.

"Photonics Congress 2014": opportunities and risks from globalisation and new social processes of innovation

Berlin, Germany | Posted on February 25th, 2014

These "light technologies" include, for instance, the key VDMA fields of
photonic-assisted manufacturing technology with lasers and laser systems
for material processing; industrial image processing; measuring technology
and instrumentation; flat panel displays; photovoltaic equipment; and
electronic production segments, specifically lithography systems.

In spite of the weaker growth over the last two years, primarily as a
reflex reaction to the exogenous shock of the preceding global financial
crisis, experts on the sector see good prospects of long-term growth for
the German photonics industry. In 2012, this turnover had grown by three
per cent to about EUR 28 billion. In the course of 2013, the prospects have
brightened considerably, especially on the investment goods sector, and the
photonics industry has embarked into the new year with confident
expectations. The growth rate for 2013 is likewise expected to be about
three per cent, reflecting complete involvement in global trading. For
2014, all economic indicators are pointing to a path that will lead back to
the long-term growth trend. Also the target turnover of EUR 44 billion
predicted by the sector last year will be reached by 2020.

According to Brodtmann, who is also responsible for introducing new
technology fields to the association's portfolio, "we must look beyond our
immediate needs, prevent errors, and continue to develop our strengths."

Manufacturing technology and image processing power growth

The growth of the photonics industry in Germany has more than been boosted
by the core fields aligned to manufacturing technology like laser
machining, lithography, image processing, and measuring technology and
instrumentation. These stout pillars of development have caused Germany's
share of the global market to grow to 20 per cent, considerably higher than
the average eight per cent recorded over the whole technology field. This
can be put down particularly to the high export ratio (last averaging 66
per cent), which is even higher in the said core segments with the promise
of more to come. At the same time, the drop in exports inside Europe could
be more than offset in most cases by expanding exports to Asia, and an
additional boost in American trading in 2012. The R&D percentage on the
photonic high-tech sectors remains at a high level. At nine to ten per
cent, it lies far higher than the processing industry's average, estimated
at about four per cent by the Institute for Economic Research.

Marked power of innovation

According to a VDMA survey based on an innovation panel, there is a
particularly high percentage of product innovations in those economically
important lines of industry that directly incorporate photonics or utilise
this "enabling technology" for its levering effects. These include, for
instance, machine building, the automotive industry, electrical systems and
electronics, telecommunications, and medical engineering. These high-volume
sectors can expect overproportional production expansions ranging between
three and eight per cent (see aircraft construction) for 2014.

VDMA reflects the full spectrum of photonics

The VDMA represents the variety and heterogeneity of the cross-sectional
technology in an excellent way: seven VDMA professional sectors related to
photonics joined forces via the "VDMA Photonics Forum" to realise synergies
and to combine the existing competences. As a result the VDMA strengthens
its position and its claim to leadership in the area of photonics. The
network of the forum includes more than 500 companies and research
institutions along the entire value chain - of which some 400 members are
active primarily in the field of photonics. Taken all together, the
photonic technologies represented within the VDMA stand for a combined
turnover of nearly EUR 14 billion and some 56,000 employees. Inevitably
these figures will include multiple references and about 25 per cent of
that activity relates to sales and personnel outside of the field of
photonics technology.

In order to integrate the perspective of the industry even more directly
into the activities of the forum the VDMA appointed an industrial steering
committee for photonics in December last year. High-ranking industry
representatives from the various photonics sectors of the VDMA will work to
enhance intra-association awareness and promote the key technology's strong
position in business and scientific policy, especially in terms of its
general public awareness.

New Working Group "Additive Manufacturing"

More recently, the VDMA has embarked on a new Working Group "Additive
Manufacturing" to cover yet another special field making use of photonics,
for instance laser-assisted sintering and melting. This consistently takes
up generative manufacturing processes as an industrial subject of the
future. After all, the path from rapid prototyping to the economical small
batch production of high-quality series components has already been walked,
and the relevance to machinery and plant engineering is evident. An
opportunity for targeted "cross-fertilisation" can be seen, for instance,
for medical engineering, here implants and prosthetics from generative
manufacturing for even greater individualisation potential.