The Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA), representing around 3,500 German and European companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector, has spoken out against a postponement or weakening in the current debate on German and European climate targets. The occasion is the recent heatwave in Germany and Europe. "We need not fewer, but better climate protection measures," says VDMA Managing Director Thilo Brodtmann in a press statement. A debate about the weakening or postponement of climate targets leads in the wrong direction.
Brodtmann points to the health and economic consequences of the heatwave. This shows how important it is to advance climate protection with modern technologies. According to the association, technologies from mechanical and plant engineering could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 86 percent. For the industrial SME sector, the VDMA sees global growth opportunities here.
Power-to-X and hydrogen as important components
Power-to-X plays a prominent role in this. According to the VDMA, this technology uses renewable electricity to produce hydrogen or other climate-friendly energy carriers. These could directly replace fossil energies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the association mentions modern energy generation plants as well as grid, storage, and sector coupling technologies as contributions to the transformation towards a climate-neutral energy system.
Demand for revised research funding
To bring the necessary technologies to market faster, state research funding must be revised, says Brodtmann. "The goal must be to set up and equip this funding so broadly that technology can make an even greater resilience contribution." In its statement, the association names several technology fields in which mechanical and plant engineering already provides solutions according to its own account.
Further technology fields for climate protection
In addition to the energy sector, the VDMA cites other application areas. In agricultural technology, GPS control, sensors, and AI-supported applications contribute to more precise dosing of fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, and fuel. In building technology, modern climate, cooling, and ventilation technology reduces energy consumption through efficient systems, heat recovery, and intelligent control. According to the association, modern fittings and showers could reduce water consumption by half, which also lowers the energy consumption for hot water and thus the CO₂ footprint in the building sector.
Efficiency potentials in pumps
According to the VDMA, around 30 terawatt-hours of electrical energy could be saved annually across the EU in the operation of pumps and pump systems – provided an extended product approach is applied. Here, the association sees the EU Commission as having the duty to quickly implement the corresponding framework conditions.
Background on the association
According to its own information, the VDMA represents around 3,500 German and European companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector. The industry employs around three million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany. The association estimates the sales volume in the European Union at around 900 billion euros. According to this, around 80 percent of the machines sold in the EU come from a manufacturing site within the internal market.
VDMA
