MECSPE, the leading trade fair dedicated to industry, returns to BolognaFiere from 29 to 31 March 2023 with a new exhibition centre, many conferences and initiatives dedicated to sustainability: from renewable energy to electric motors, all the solutions to help companies in their transition to sustainability

Energy price hikes and inflation are not affecting total industry sales, which, as noted by Istat, grew in September by +18.0 per cent on an annual basis. This is a positive figure that encourages companies to continue their growth path, but one that must deal with national and European sustainability goals.

Indeed, among the ambitious goals in support of the environment, is the one set by the European Union to eliminate, by 2035, all diesel and gasoline cars and replace them with zero-emission ones (e.g., electric or hydrogen), a truly green revolution for the automotive sector that implies major investments and innovations in the industrial field.

In November, car production increased by +14.7 per cent—although it does not stand comparison to 2019—and more and more automakers are trying to adopt new ways of making non-polluting cars. In Italy we are talking about 4.2 per cent of the total production, a figure still below the European average of 20.4 per cent [1].

Thus, there is still work to be done by 2035.

Technologies and solutions for the new mobility

Aiming to help companies in the supply chain find the right solutions to implement this renewal, MECSPE—Italy’s leading exhibition dedicated to the manufacturing industry organized by Senaf, scheduled for March 29-31, 2023, at BolognaFiere—dedicates the exhibition core of its 21st edition precisely to these issues, with a 2,000-square-metre area entitled Energy Transition and Mobility of the Future.

At the centre of this large exhibition area, experts, professionals, entrepreneurs, and institutional figures will have the opportunity to discuss the technologies and solutions for new mobility, from electric vehicles to hydrogen ones down to biofuels.

Visitors will be able to see working demo units, created by exhibitors at the event, which will showcase technologies and processes intended for the sustainable mobility sector from design to production, all in a logic of circularity and optimization of energy efficiency.

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But there’s more. The debate on alternative energy sources will reach across the supply chain through new, more sustainable processes and will also be expanded to include current issues within the manufacturing sector such as reshoring, remanufacturing, and metal replacement, with a focus on new materials.

All these challenges are already of interest to businesses that are searching for innovative methods to help safeguard the environment: in fact, the latest MECSPE Observatory data on the second quarter of 2022 reveal that four out of ten entrepreneurs already consider their companies green and sustainable.

The main measures put in place are the use of energy-efficient devices (61 per cent), the purchase of efficient and next-generation machinery (51 per cent), and the installation of renewable energy production systems (42 per cent).

Sustainability, training and innovation

«Despite the efforts already undertaken by many companies, there are still quite a few entrepreneurs facing the energy transition today, at a particularly complex stage for the economy. We, therefore, decided to dedicate the heart of the MECSPE exhibition, which for years has been a reference hub for new technologies for our country’s industry, to these issues, with a rich program of meetings and initiatives on the subject – comments Maruska Sabato, MECSPE project manager –. Sustainability is an essential element for doing business, and it is encouraging to see how green awareness is spreading in the industry sector, also because innovation and sustainability cannot be separated if you want to achieve the ambitious international goals for the safeguard of the environment.»

Sustainability in the industry is one of the three main themes, along with education and innovation, on which the substantial program of events and initiatives of MECSPE 2023 unfolds.

In particular, there will also be no shortage in 2023 of Ecofriendly – I do more, a real and virtual journey among exhibitors who stand out in their business practices for paying special attention to the environment and providing visitors with new and inspiring solutions.

Also new to this edition will be the Green Plastix Arena, an area where companies will present their innovations based on the circular economy concept where digitisation is a key factor in resource management efficiency. Within the arena, several sectors will be involved: packaging, food, mobility and transportation, medical/health care, consumer goods, electrical and electronics.

Together with MECSPE, there will be METEF, the international expo dedicated to the aluminium supply chain, a core sector for sustainable industrial production.

MECSPE doubles up

Finally, in 2023 MECSPE will double its appointment and will also be held in Bari from 23 to 25 November, with “Focus Mediterraneo” at the Nuova Fiera del Levante, an edition dedicated to the development of 4.0 technologies and a proposal increasingly focused on sustainability and innovation of production processes.

[1] Data: Nomisma