Stuttgart Surface Technology Prize 2026 "The Surface" - Award winners

The Stuttgart Surface Technology Prize "The Surface 2026" was awarded to solutions that can replace chemical cleaning processes, bring recyclates into electroplating and provide an alternative to gold in power electronics.

Surface technology is much more than the visible outer skin of a product. Coatings and surface treatments simultaneously fulfil protective functions against corrosion and wear, technical functions such as electrical conductivity and friction minimization as well as aesthetic and hygienic requirements. Typical processes range from grinding, polishing and blasting to painting, electroplating, coating, hardening, nitriding and oxidizing. The three winning innovations of the Stuttgart Surface Technology Award 2026, which was presented on May 5, 2026 in Stuttgart at the SurfaceTechnology Germany trade fair, are examples of how far the industry has developed these disciplines.

The initiator of the award, Martin Metzner, Head of the Resource-Efficient Materials and Processes business segment at Fraunhofer IPA, draws a clear conclusion: "The innovative strength of the industry impresses me again and again after ten award ceremonies. The applications show how practical and forward-looking solutions are created from real industrial challenges. The distinctive inventive spirit is particularly evident in the award-winning technologies and applications."

First prize went to the joint development LAMA by SLCR Lasertechnik GmbH and Dörken Coatings GmbH & Co KG. The laser-based system cleans metallic bulk goods such as screws, nuts and clips in a single step, replacing chemical cleaning processes in combination with mechanical blasting. The jury awarded second prize to BIA Kunststoff- und Galvanotechnik GmbH & Co. KG for the Remap concept, which enables Class A high-gloss surfaces from recycled plastics in decorative electroplating for the first time. The third prize went to Enayati Oberflächentechnik GmbH for the AgTherm high-temperature silver coating system, which significantly extends the range of applications for silver in power electronics at continuous temperatures above 200 °C and thus represents an alternative to hard gold.

The laser-based system cleans metallic bulk goods such as screws, nuts and clips in a single step and prepares the parts for subsequent zinc flake coating using the dip-spin process or for the electroplating process. Contaminants such as oil, grease and oxide layers are removed using energy-efficient laser processing in a bulk material process. The technology offers an alternative to previous surface preparation: LAMA almost completely replaces the combined use of chemical cleaning and mechanical blasting. A single process step is sufficient, resulting in considerable savings in energy and CO2 emissions. The jury was particularly impressed by the combination of environmental friendliness, process simplification and economic scalability.

Managing Director Steffen Neuhaus and his colleague Jonas Körfer from SLCR Lasertechnik GmbH and René Rother from Dörken Coatings accepted the award at the Surface Technology Germany 2026 specialist forum. The LAMA process exemplifies the claim of the Stuttgart Surface Technology Award: To honor innovations that have a direct impact in industrial practice and conserve resources in the process.

The process enables high-quality Class A high-gloss surfaces from recycled plastics in decorative electroplating for the first time. Until now, the use of recyclates in plastic electroplating has failed due to fluctuating material quality, adhesion problems and visible defects. Remap solves this challenge with a multi-stage, purely mechanical recycling process that ensures high material purity and controlled material properties. The process separates galvanized scrap parts into plastic and metal fractions, processes the material and returns it to the production process as galvanizable ABS recyclate. The recycled material achieves the appearance, function and process stability of new goods and can be used 30 to 100 percent of the time. Post-industrial recyclates can already be fully recycled today. This reduces the_{CO2 footprint} by around 30 percent. The system is suitable for series production and can be integrated into existing electroplating processes.

Managing Director Dr. Felix Heinzler and Dr. Markus Dahlhaus, Head of Development and Process Technology at BIA Kunststoff- und Galvanotechnik, accepted the award at the SurfaceTechnology Germany 2026 expert forum. With the Remap concept, the expert jury recognized a technology that opens the way to circular electroplating at a premium level and thus makes a concrete contribution to the circular economy in surface technology.

The AgTherm high-temperature silver coating system solves a long-standing problem in power electronics: electrical contacts at continuous temperatures above 150 °C could previously only be reliably realized with gold. Silver-based contact surfaces failed due to insufficient adhesion and thermal ageing under long-term stress. AgTherm overcomes this limitation with a novel, industrially scalable coating concept that enables stable, low-resistance electrical connections even at continuous temperatures above 200 °C. The technology has been externally validated in near-series samples and successfully tested in extensive comparative studies against established competitive processes. In long-term tests conducted by a leading automotive OEM, only the AgTherm system met all the requirements. In addition to opening up new high-temperature applications in power electronics, e-mobility and energy technology, the technology provides an economical alternative to hard gold for the first time and leads to a significant reduction in the_{CO2 footprint}.

The expert jury recognized AgTherm as an innovation that combines several aspects: a clear leap in innovation compared to the state of the art, economic scalability and a measurable contribution to resource efficiency in surface technology. Torsten Holzhauer from Enayati Oberflächentechnik GmbH accepted the award at the SurfaceTechnology Germany 2026 specialist forum in Stuttgart.

The Stuttgart Surface Technology Award is being presented for the 10th time, for the first time in 2012; since 2018, Fraunhofer IPA has presented the award every two years at the international trade fair Surface Technology Germany in Stuttgart. Companies and individuals from all disciplines of surface technology were invited to apply until March 6, 2026. The independent expert jury consisted of Dr.-Ing. Martin Metzner from Fraunhofer IPA, Dr. Martin Riester from VDMA Oberflächentechnik and Dr. Michael Hilt from Forschungsgesellschaft für Pigmente und Lacke e. V. The jurors evaluated all applications according to four key criteria: Innovative leap, sustainability, enabler quality and industrial feasibility. They nominated five submissions and selected three award winners. The other nominated entries were Ditec GmbH with "Advanced digital electrolyte management" and Iwis Mobility Systems GmbH & Co. KG with "Tritan - inline PVD coating for rolling elements in large-scale production".

The next round of applications for the Stuttgart Surface Technology Award "The Surface 2028" is expected to start in autumn 2027. Companies, research institutions and individuals from all disciplines of surface technology are once again invited to submit their innovations. The prize sees itself as an open platform for all those who are advancing the state of the art - regardless of company size, industry or field of technology (OM-5/26).