ACHEMA 2024 sets the tone for a more sustainable and competitive process industry

Exhibition Grounds (Copyright: DECHEMA/Markus Püttmann)

Entrance City (Copyright: DECHEMA/Katarina Ivanisevic)

At ACHEMA 2024, the world's leading trade show for the process industries, 2,842 exhibitors from 56 nations showed 106,001 participants from 141 countries the latest equipment and innovative processes for the chemical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries at the Frankfurt exhibition grounds from 10 to 14 June 2024.

Whether it was laboratory or pharmaceutical technology, plant engineering or classic process technology, the stands in the halls were very busy and at times there was no getting trough in the aisles. "The exhibitors we spoke to and we ourselves are extremely satisfied, in some cases there was so much going on at the stands that the stand staff couldn't keep up. Many of the discussions were directly related to projects or investments", confirms Jürgen Nowicki, Chairman of the ACHEMA Committee and CEO of Linde Engineering.

Dr Björn Mathes, CEO of DECHEMA Ausstellungs-GmbH, is also very satisfied: "This ACHEMA gives the industry an impulse that will remain trend-setting for the coming years.” ACHEMA 2024 recorded significant growth in the number of exhibitors: 2,842 exhibitors from 56 countries presented their products and innovations on around 100,000 square metres of net exhibition space. With a 63 per cent share of international exhibitors, this year's leading trade show for the global process industries was the most international of all time. In addition, 106,001 participants from 141 nations came to this year's ACHEMA. Every second participant (48.9 per cent) came from abroad.

The six innovation themes of ACHEMA 2024 – Process, Pharma, Green, Lab, Digital and Hydrogen – also met with great interest. They focus on key challenges that are affecting the process industry today and in the coming years and present concrete business cases for solving them, particularly at the Innovation Stages. The innovation themes have a more overarching character and were organised together with partners from industry, SMEs, associations and institutions.

Overall, the high-calibre and broad ACHEMA congress programme with over 900 lectures, discussion panels and workshops was once again very well received. "With more than 30,000 listeners in the congress, the attendance figures are higher than ever before," says Dr Andreas Förster, Executive Director of DECHEMA e.V. In the congress programme, the hydrogen topics as well as lectures on electrification and flexibilization met with particularly great interest. In addition, the lectures on pharma and life sciences as well as on digitalization (e.g. AI, MTP, APL) were among the best attended. Björn Mathes adds: "The exhibition and congress once again showcased the technological future of our industry and set an outstanding accent for a more sustainable and competitive process industry."

The next ACHEMA will take place in Frankfurt from 14 to 18 June 2027.