Today at Automechanika Frankfurt, the event’s coveted Innovation Awards were presented to the winners at the ceremony on the first day of the trade fair. 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. 

As Stephan Kurzawski, senior vice president of Messe Frankfurt, put it at the award ceremony: “Innovations are the focal point of Automechanika. Over the next few days, more than 2,800 exhibitors will be presenting their latest products and services – many of which are world firsts. In recent years, new products and smart solutions have been developed at a staggering rate. This once again highlights the wealth of innovation on offer in the international automotive aftermarket.”

The winners at the Innovation Award 2022 ceremony 

This year’s award-winning products revealed a clear focus on digitalization, 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, online-supported systems for damage diagnostics, and a Bluetooth color scanner that can identify colors and use a datable to supply the correct formula for matching paint in a matter of seconds. 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. 

This was the third time that the panel presented the Green Award to honor 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. This innovation also won the Innovation Award in the Workshop & Service Solutions category. 

Companies from the automotive aftermarket were able to submit their innovations in the following categories: E-Mobility, Data & Connectivity, Workshop & Service Solutions, Parts & Technology Solutions, Body & Paint, Car Wash & Care, Accessories & Customizing, and Commercial Vehicles. 

The winners and finalists will also be featured in a special area located in the new Innovation4Mobility showcase in Hall 3.0.

The winners
Category: E-mobility

Autel Europe MaxiCharger DC FAST The MaxiCharger DC FAST from Autel is a direct current (DC) fast charging station for battery electric vehicles. It has a maximum output power of 240 kW.

Category: Data & Connectivity

Herth+Buss Car PartsHerth+Buss Product Detector  The Herth+Buss Product Detector app makes it possible to quickly and easily identify the spare part being sought. With this app, the desired item can simply be scanned into the app and then found – eliminating time-consuming searching through print and online catalogues. The app’s image-recognition capability saves workshops time and money – it is even possible to order parts directly through the app.

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 GmbHBraking 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: Body & Paint

Celette France S.A.S. Eagle – Electronic Car Body Measurement SystemLaser-assisted electronic measurement system to ascertain the distortion of chassis, for example following collisions. The results are then compared with the CAD coordinates supplied by the vehicle’s manufacturer, and the system is able to reliably detect deviations of ± 1.5 mm. An entire vehicle can be measured in no more than ten minutes.

Category: Car Wash & Care

Lederzentrum GmbH  ColourScannerPRO – Colour Scanner incl. Formula Database The ColourScannerPRO is a novel new type of mobile digital tool that is able to quickly and affordably determine the color of leather for leather repairs. The color scanner is connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth using the COLOURLOCK app.

 Category: Accessories & Customizing

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.