Submissions now open for 2025 Formnext Awards
Interested parties have until July 31 or August 31 to submit their applications
While we’re still six months away from the next Formnext event, the planning for the Frankfurt-based AM trade show is well underway. Last month, Formnext 2025 opened up its call for speakers and now it has opened its submission portal for the 2025 Formnext Awards. Following the success of last year’s awards format, this year’s edition will also recognize innovators in six different categories, who will be chosen by a jury of AM industry experts and a public vote.
Formnext regulars will likely remember the 2024 awards ceremony, where six companies and organizations were given special 3D printed trophies. Last year’s winners were:
- AM of Bones, University of Stuttgart (AMbassador Award)
- Siemens / 3D-PROCESS research consortium (Design Award)
- Fraunhofer IGCV ((R)Evolution Award)
- Oryx Medicals (Rookie Award)
- Axolotl Biosciences (Start-up Award)
- Ceratizit (Sustainability Award)
This year, a new crop of winners will be selected in the same six categories of AMbassador, Design, (R)Evolution, Rookie, Start-up and Sustainability. “To keep moving forward, the AM industry needs a constant supply of new and forward-looking ideas and innovators. So, we want to do more than just give outstanding people, companies and organizations a stage. We also want to help them network and connect with potential customers, partners and investors,” said Christoph Stüker, Vice President Formnext at event organizer Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH.
The AMbassador Award, which recognizes organizations or individuals that are making an impact on the AM industry through training, education or personal advocacy, will be selected by an expert panel consisting of Dr. Irene Skibinski (VDMA Additive Manufacturing), Haden Quinlan (MIT), Ralf Anderhofstadt (Daimler Buses GmbH) and Lisa D. Block (Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies, Women in 3D Printing).
The Design Award, for its part, is focused on design groups, companies or individuals that are coming up with cutting-edge AM designs or AM products with notable aesthetics and functionalities. This award will be granted by a jury of specialists in the AM design field including fashiontech designer and engineer Anouk Wipprecht, Duann Scott, the founder of BITS to ATOMS and CDFAM, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Oliver Tessman from the TU Darmstadt DDU Digital Design Unit and Evamaria Deisen of industrial design firm Deisen Design.
The (R)Evolution Award, as the name suggests, recognizes game-changing new products, technologies or services. For example, last year’s winner Fraunhofer IGCV submitted its project on “Three Material Powder Bed Fusion of Battery Cell Cap Housing”, which used an innovative three-material powder bed fusion process to create battery cell housings made from aluminum, copper and ceramic. At the upcoming trade show, this category will be judged by Dr. Melissa Orme (Boeing), Dr.-Ing. Maximilian Binder (BMW Group) and Prof. Jennifer Johns (University of Bristol Business School).
Next up, the Rookie Award will highlight an up-and-comer in the industry who has a particularly promising business idea. To be eligible for this award, participants must not have yet founded a company or still be in the first year since launching. For those that have been around a little bit longer, the Start-up Award is a potential pathway to recognition. The panel for both these awards will be Arno Held (AM Ventures), Alex Kingsbury (nLight), Prof. Dr. Peter Mayr (TU München), Dr.-Ing. Sascha Schwarz (TUM Venture Labs) and Heather Swift Hunt (Kickstarter).
Last but not least is the Sustainability Award which focuses on additive manufacturing applications or products that are rated based on their product life cycle. For example, last year’s winner Ceratizit developed a process for 3D printing hard metals using bonding agents and sintering that resulted in a 91% reduction of raw material consumption (and a 95% decrease in carbon footprint) compared to more traditional hard metal processing methods. The jury panel for the Sustainability Award will be Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kristian Arntz (FH Aachen), Dr. Mohsen Seifi (ASTM International) and Sherri Monroe (Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association).
“The success of last year’s Formnext Awards launch has demonstrated the significant opportunities that the awards offer participants and winners in each category,” added Petra Haarburger, President of event organizer Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH. “They enjoy access to all relevant international experts in one place and benefit from targeted networking and scope for in-depth discussions and strategic partnerships—while also raising their profile among key decision-makers in the industry and beyond. The awards stage at Formnext is where competence, relevance and reach come together.”
Those interested are now invited to submit their applications for the 2025 Formnext Awards. For the Start-up Award, the deadline to submit is July 31, 2025 and all other categories can submit until August 31, 2025. First, a selection of finalists will be chosen by the jury panel. These finalists will be able to present their submissions in a special exhibit at Formnext 2025. There will then be a public vote, where Formnext visitors can vote for a finalist in each of of the six categories (in person or online). The winners will ultimately be presented with their awards on November 20, 2025 and the official ceremony. Winners will receive a 3D printed trophy and other prizes, including cash prizes or business coaching.
