A high-ranking delegation from Saxony visited the Emilia-Romagna region in May 2024 to promote cooperation in the fields of smart industry and the automotive sector.
A high-level delegation from Saxony, led by Deputy Minister-President Martin Dulig, has just concluded its visit to the Emilia-Romagna Region. The aim of the meeting was to explore and promote cooperation in smart industry and the automotive sector between the two regions.
Day One: Modena Technology Park
The first day took place at the Modena Technology Park and was packed with presentations and collaborations. Martin Dulig opened the event with an initial welcome speech, followed by an economic overview of Saxony presented by Thomas Horn of Saxony Trade & Invest Corp. Dirk Vogel of AMZ / RKW Group then outlined current initiatives in the automotive and mobility sectors.
Francesco Leali, Dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and member of the MUNER board, presented MUNER’s initiatives. Next, Carlo Augusto Grazia and Mirco Marchetti from UNIMORE introduced MASA (Modena Automotive Smart Area) and MOST, emphasising their commitment to sustainable innovation.
The delegation then explored emerging technologies in the field of autonomous driving presented by Professor Marko Bertogna and HiPeRT-Lab, concluding the day with a visit to the renowned Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.
Day Two: BI-REX Competence Centre
The second day was dedicated to the event ‘Bridging Ecosystems: Smart Manufacturing & Automotive Innovations between Emilia-Romagna and Saxony’ at the BI-REX Competence Centre, moderated by Luca Tomesani of the University of Bologna.
The day began with a bilateral meeting with regional ministers Vincenzo Colla, Councillor for Economic Development and Green Economy, Labour, Training and International Relations of the Emilia-Romagna Region, and Martin Dulig.
Participants were able to learn about BI-REX’s initiatives and trends in the Saxon automotive industry thanks to presentations by Dirk Vogel of the RKW Group Saxony. In addition, Mariacristina Gherpelli, President of Clust-ER Meccatronica e Motoristica, provided an overview of CLUST-ER MECH and the upcoming agreement with RKW to create the BI-TECH innovation network, aimed at transforming sustainability reporting obligations into business strategies.
RKW Saxony and Clust-ER Meccatronica e Motoristica dell’Emilia-Romagna, which have already collaborated on several European projects, have announced the imminent signing of a collaboration agreement to create a network that supports companies in “transforming” sustainability reporting obligations (such as the EU’s CSRD – Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) into business development strategies.
The network’s objectives will be, in particular, to:
– identify business strategies for sustainability using real-time data from production and other business processes, as well as scenario forecasting/prediction solutions based on AI technologies;
– facilitate the control and monitoring of improvements in sustainability and resilience by companies.
The network will involve innovative manufacturing companies, technology solution providers and research institutes in particular.
Clust-ER MECH will be involved as international co-leader of the network alongside RKW and will be particularly engaged in involving its stakeholders in the network’s initiatives and identifying funding opportunities for innovation and research and development projects.
Next, Lorenzo Donati and Lorenzo Peretto from the University of Bologna presented innovative initiatives in the automotive sector, with a particular focus on the European ZEVRA (Zero Emission Vehicles) project. Stefano Cattorini from BI-REX provided an overview of the centre’s activities.
The day ended with testimonials from Michele Poggipolini (Poggipolini S.p.A.), Paolo Tondelli (Bonfiglioli S.p.A.) and Roberto Gaudenzi (BitBang), who shared their experiences of collaborative innovation in the sector.
The visit of the Saxony delegation to the Emilia-Romagna Region proved to be a great success, actively promoting cooperation in the smart industry and automotive sectors between the two regions. This meeting opened up new opportunities for collaboration and innovation, strengthening ties and paving the way for future joint projects.
Special thanks go to the Saxony Development Agency – Saxony Trade & Invest – and the Italian-German Chamber of Commerce for organising and participating in the event.