Application phase for the Stuttgart Surface Technology Award 2026 begins

The award "THE SURFACE" honors innovative applications and technologies across all disciplines of surface technology. © Fraunhofer IPA/Photo: Rainer Bez

The first place at the Surface Technology Award "THE SURFACE" in 2024 went to Holzapfel Metallveredelung. An oscillating and tilting galvanic rack was awarded. © Holzapfel Metallveredelung GmbH

The Fraunhofer IPA will once again award the Stuttgart Surface Technology Award "DIE OBERFLÄCHE" next year. This recognizes innovative applications and technologies across all disciplines of surface technology. The application phase begins on October 6th, and the award ceremony will take place on May 5th at the Surface Technology Germany trade fair.

From October 6, 2025, to inclusive February 20, 2026, it will once again be possible to apply for the Stuttgart Surface Technology Award "DIE OBERFLÄCHE." Both individuals and organizations that have innovatively shaped the surface technology industry are invited to participate, regardless of whether they work in electroplating, coating technology, thermal spraying, or other industrial fields related to surface technology.

The three-member jury evaluates sustainability as well as the degree of innovation, the extent of the technology or application as an enabling technology, and industrial feasibility. "Innovation begins at the surface – especially small and medium-sized enterprises drive the development of entire industries with their ideas. Making such companies visible and promoting them is always our motivation for this special award," says juror Martin Metzner, Head of Surface Processes, Surface Technology, and Materials at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation IPA.

The winner of the 2024 competition was Holzapfel Metallveredelung. The company from Sinn in central Hesse impressed the jury with a rotatable and tiltable electroplating frame. Thanks to the stepless swivel angle, it enables, on the one hand, an unprecedented coating quality and, on the other hand, a high degree of variability in component orientation. This flexibility saves resources because it is now possible to coat only one side of components without having to mask them beforehand.

Award ceremony at the Surface Technology Germany trade fair

In addition to Metzner, the interdisciplinary and independent expert jury also includes Martin Riester (VDMA Surface Technology) and Michael Hilt (Research Society for Pigments and Paints e.V.). The Stuttgart Surface Technology Award "DIE OBERFLÄCHE" is awarded every two years and will already be the tenth time in 2026. The award ceremony will take place on May 5, 2026, at the technical forum of the international Surface Technology Germany trade fair in Stuttgart.

All necessary documents for the application and further information are available at the following link: https://www.ipa.fraunhofer.de/oberflaeche