The 9th Symposium on "Hybrid and Energy-Efficient Drives for Mobile Machinery" was held on 28 February in Karlsruhe, with around 170 experts from research and industry. The event was hosted by FVA GmbH, with support from Mobima (KIT Institutsteil Mobile Arbeitsmaschinen).
The preceding evening’s event offered participants an opportunity to exchange ideas in a relaxed atmosphere and gain insights into current research topics at Mobima and other areas of the FAST (Fahrzeugsystemtechnik) Institute. The evening’s event was sponsored by Bosch Rexroth, Fendt (AGCO), and Hohenloher Spezial-Maschinenbau (HSM).
On 28 February, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Marcus Geimer from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology kicked off the conference. This was followed by a keynote from Patrick Ahlbrand of CLAAS on "Efficient and Sustainable Use of Agricultural Machinery." The second keynote by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Bastian Kaiser from the University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg on "Sustainability – A Concept that Makes a Career," gave participants a new perspective on the term sustainability.
This was followed by exciting presentations in sessions on "Innovative Forest Technology," "Electric Mobile Machinery," and "Energy-Efficient Components." The event concluded with presentations on the topic of "Climate-Neutral Drives."
The 12 technical presentations clearly demonstrated the significance of hybridization and increased efficiency in the field of mobile machinery. These contributions from research and industry showed that the topics of climate-neutrality and sustainability are also the main drivers in the development of mobile machinery. Electrification and hybridization, in particular, have shown great potential for increasing the efficiency of drives and gear units. The use of hydrogen as an energy source was also addressed several times as an important research topic.
In the breaks between presentations, attendees could learn about the latest products and innovations from Bosch Rexroth, Hydac, InMach, RheinTacho, and Shimadzu in the accompanying technical exhibition.
We would like to thank the sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, and all participants for the successful event, and we look forward to the tenth anniversary of the symposium in 2025.
The accompanying conference proceedings with ISBN 978-3-7315-1260-8 will be made available free of charge in digital format in the KIT Library.
Program committee:
Dr.-Ing. Frank Bauer, Prof. Dr. Ludger Frerichs, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Geerling, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Marcus Geimer, Christian Kunze, Dr.-Ing. Benno Pichlmaier, Dr. Bernd Vahlensieck