The Leading Trade Fair for Chemicals: Achema live again

Achema 2022 The Leading Trade Fair for Chemicals: Achema live again

2022-06-29 From Dominik Stephan

Related Vendors

EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH

Pörner Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH

TRM Filter d.o.o.

Achema back as a live event for the first time since it was postponed— After some back and forth, the leading trade fair for the process industry opens its doors in August. Despite great anticipation for the upcoming meeting, expectations are mixed. Achema between the Ukraine war and the fading pandemic.

Achema 2018 was one of the biggest ever. This year, everything is expected to be smaller, but still the anticipation is great.(Source: Dechema e.V / Jean-Luc Valentin) — Achema 2018 was one of the biggest ever. This year, everything is expected to be smaller, but still the anticipation is great.
(Source: Dechema e.V / Jean-Luc Valentin)

No time to rest: just as the process industry has saved the world with the Corona vaccines, the next crisis comes along. With the start of the war in Ukraine, spectres long thought banished are back in Europe. In times of trade wars and energy shortages, the industry cannot close its eyes to the fact that 2022 will not be an ordinary Achema year.

The molecule of green dreams: without hydrogen, the defossilization of chemistry will not succeed. (Source: © PhotoGranary - stock.adobe.com; Achema; [M]VCG)

And yet, fair organizer Dechema is striving for confidence: August 2022 shall finally see the return of Achema to the big stage. After all, it is the chemical and pharmaceutical industry that can offer solutions to the challenges of both present and future, explains Thomas Scheuring, Managing Director of Dechema Ausstellungs-GmbH and thus chief Achema organizer: “With Achema this year — perhaps more than ever — we are sending a signal that technological cooperation across industry boundaries but also across national borders is indispensable to solve the crises of our time.”

Gallery

Achema expects some 3,000 plus exhibitors from over 50 countries.(Bild: Dechema)

After the trade show is before the trade show: The picture was taken at the last Achema 2018.(Source: Dechema e.V. / Helnut Stettin)

The trade fair organizer sees the five areas of climate-neutral production, circular economy, industrial water, sustainable chemistry and bio-based economy as particularly challenging.

While the world’s leading trade fair for the chemical industry is not particularly imaginative with its motto “Inspiring Sustainable Connections”, it is progressive to the max. For all products and processes that are committed to the goal of sustainability, the Achema organizers have launched the “Green Innovation Zone” in Hall 6.0 (the “Research Hall” next to the central Torhaus).

This is intended to bring together pioneers, experts and solution providers from industry, politics and science with decision-makers and users, to shed light on green innovations and the challenges facing the industry. In doing so, the Achema organizers also want to include non-profit organizations, small companies or start-ups, for which special conditions are available.

The opening event on Monday, August 22, 2022 (from 5:00 p.m.) wants nothing less than the “Climate Neutral Chemical Industry” — to this end, Achema is bringing the BASF CEO and President of the European Chemical Industry Council Cefic, Martin Brudermüller, on stage for a keynote speech and subsequent panel discussion.

Hidden Champions: Did you know that Achema is the world's largest exhibition for pumps, compressors and valves? (Source: © Andrei Merkulov - stock.adobe.com)

But how many opportunities does the energy- and raw material-intensive sector actually have? “The process industry will only meet its responsibility for sustainable value creation if it consistently and 100 percent electrifies its plants and uses hydrogen as an energy source in the medium term,” explains Frank Jenner, Global Chemicals & Advanced Materials Industry Leader at Ernst & Young. “The industry is making great efforts here, yet the challenge is huge.”

One wonders, if exhibitors feel the same way? The Dechema has no influence on that, yet the conference program shows how the organisation defines sustainability: From a Hydrogen Monday (for more on hydrogen see p. 32) to “Fossil Free Production” on Tuesday, two core topics of the debate are impressively covered. Things get more technological on Wednesdays and Thursdays, which are dedicated to the digitalization of the laboratory and production. The topic of “Digitalization in Process Industry” will be featured in the new “Digital Hub” exhibition (Hall 12.1). Friday’s theme “Novel Bioprocesses and Technologies” stands for biopharmaceuticals, biobased chemicals or biotechnological recycling.

Discover the Top 10 Countries in the Chemical Industry:

Top 10 Countries in the Chemical Industry

10. Italy: 53 million euros in sales in 2020. (Source: Pixabay)

9. Brazil: 54 million euros in sales in 2020. (Source: Pixabay)

8. Taiwan: 66 million euros in sales in 2020. (Source: Pixabay)

Gallery with 11 images

Dr. Björn Mathes, deputy managing director of Dechema-Ausstellungs-GmbH, explains, “As an industry platform, we can create a nucleus in our lecture formats and in the discussions where the industry works together to find a solution.”

The Lab of the Future

For the “lab rats” of the future, the “Digital Lab” area will present use cases for the networked and digitized lab to bring the smart lab of tomorrow to life. These include cross-manufacturer digitization solutions and relevant practical examples. The spectrum ranges from cobot-assisted work processes for sample preparation and analysis, to user-oriented process control with laboratory execution systems, to horizontally and vertically networked yet modularly adaptable equipment solutions with the perspective of shared laboratory infrastructure and seamless integration from sample input to quality-assured analysis results, explain the organizers.

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.

“Digitization, sustainability, security of supply — the challenges ahead are enormous and can only be overcome together and across industries,” says Thomas Scheuring. “Let’s therefore use Achema as a globally unique showcase of the current trends in our industry to find solutions together.”

Start-up adventure: founders want to discover the industry of tomorrow. (Source: Sergey Nivens - stock.adobe.com; thenounproject.com)

Green, climate, sustainable and circular economy — that sounds a bit like a local Friends of Nature group and very little like the chemical industry. Whether and how serious the industry really is about this change will have to be seen, should raw materials or energy actually become scarce, triggering a race for coveted resources. In any case, the industry no longer wants to just watch from the sideline but be part of the solution.

(ID:48440271)