At IndTech2025 in Kraków, the latest industrial innovations took centre stage as researchers, innovators, and policymakers explored breakthrough solutions transforming industrial processes across Europe.
About the IndTech Conference
IndTech 2025 is the European Union’s main conference on industrial technologies.
Held in the historic city of Kraków, Poland, this important event brought together industry leaders, researchers, and policymakers to tackle key challenges in manufacturing, energy transformation, and digital innovation.
This year’s conference highlighted two important SINTEF-led projects that show Europe’s commitment to sustainable industrial innovation. Flex4Fact was featured both in presentations and at the exhibition. Showing how advanced algorithms and digital twins can improve energy flexibility in industry. H2GLASS was showcased at the exhibition, demonstrating how hydrogen technology can help decarbonise industries like glass and aluminium manufacturing.
Making European industry more energy flexible
How can Europe’s industries become more energy-efficient and climate-friendly?
This key question was at the heart of the conference session “Towards Highly Efficient and Sustainable Energy Use in European Industries,” hosted by the SET Plan Industrial Working Group. Industry experts shared best practices in electrification, circular economy approaches, and carbon capture technologies.
Ragnhild J. Eleftheriadis from SINTEF presented Flex4Fact’s progress, explaining how digital-based energy flexibility can support grid stability and help decarbonise large industrial sites.
Digital-based flexibility helps large industrial clusters play an important role in keeping the electricity grid stable and reducing carbon emissions, Ragnhild explained during her presentation.
As Europe adds more renewable energy sources like wind and solar to its grid, electricity prices and CO₂ emissions change more quickly than before. Digital demand-side flexibility (DSF) allows industries to adjust their energy use in response to these changes, creating a more stable and sustainable energy system.
There are two main types of demand response. Implicit demand response means that industries shift their energy use to times when electricity is cheaper and cleaner. This helps them lower costs and emissions and reduces the need to waste renewable energy when demand is low.
Explicit demand response allows industries to quickly change how much electricity they use, usually within 30 minutes, when the grid needs support. This helps prevent overloads and keeps the system running smoothly.
Large-scale industrial clusters, due to their significant and responsive energy loads, are especially well-positioned to contribute to these services, Ragnhild concluded, highlighting the advantage that major industrial facilities have in supporting grid stability.
The audience showed strong interest in the project’s results, with many thoughtful questions being raised. In this moment, Eric Lecomte, Policy Officer at the Directorate-General for Energy in the European Commission, is seen engaging with Ragnhild about the Cluster platform, which will play a key role in the final phase of the project.
The first panel answering questions, from the left Prof. Ming Chen from DTU Denmark, Ragnhild J. Eleftheriadis Flex4Fact coordinator and Research Scientist SINTEF Manufacturing and Andrrzej Szlek from SUT.
The clustering platform in the Flex4Fact project is a digital system that helps factories work together to use energy more efficiently.
It collects data from different factories and analyses how they use energy. It then provides suggestions on how to reduce energy use or shift it to times when energy is cleaner or cheaper.
The platform uses tools like digital twins and algorithms to make smart decisions. It also has the potential to be connected to the energy market so that factories can adjust their energy use based on supply and demand.
While most factories consume energy rather than produce it, some may have on-site renewable energy sources like solar panels or combined heat and power systems. In those cases, the platform can help them:
- Share excess energy with the grid or nearby industries.
- Store energy for later use.
- Reduce or shift energy use during peak times to support grid stability.
Moving hydrogen forward in industry
The H2Glass project, prominently featured at the exhibition, represents an important step in industrial decarbonisation. The H2GLASS project will begin full-scale hydrogen trials starting this year. This ambitious initiative brings together glass manufacturers, industrial partners, and research institutions under the Horizon Europe programme. The project demonstrates Europe’s commitment to transforming traditionally carbon-intensive industries.
The project covers more than just glass manufacturing. It also includes aluminium production, demonstrating hydrogen’s potential as a clean energy solution across multiple industrial sectors.
Exhibition and networking opportunities
The exhibition area at IndTech 2025 was busy with activity. The area served as a lively hub for showcasing new industrial innovations and building meaningful partnerships.
Located within the Process4Planet zone, H2Glass and Flex4Fact shared a booth that attracted attention from attendees. Many visitors stopped by to learn more, leading to several interesting and valuable conversations.
“The main reason I participate in EUIndTech is the visibility it provides as a researcher across Europe. It significantly enhances the impact of my projects, and the conference offers an excellent platform for networking with potential collaborators and policymakers” – Ragnhild J. Eleftheriadis, SINTEF Manufacturing, project coordinator for Flex4Fact
Flex4Fact and H2GLASS at the Process4Planet booth in the exhibition area.
Want to know more about how Flex4Fact promotes energy flexibility in the industry visit the Flex4Fact webpage. Or learn more about integrating more renewables in the industry energy mix in this blog post.
If you’re curious about how hydrogen be used as a fuel for energy intensive industries, visit the H2GLASS website. Or read the blog post about the glass decarbonisation challenge here.
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