SMM is launching a dedicated Naval Hall in Hall B8 for Maritime Security & Defence. Featuring over 50 exhibitors, the new platform connects industry, navies, and research to accelerate dual-use innovations and procurement.
Security and military matters are becoming increasingly important for the maritime industry. This is also evident at this year’s world-leading shipbuilding trade fair – SMM in Hamburg: there will be a new dedicated hall.
SMM is expanding its “Maritime Security & Defence” offering and creating a dedicated hall for this area with the Naval Hall. Hall B8 combines an exhibition area, the Naval Stage as a platform for an international specialist program, and networking. The Naval Hall is thus intended to become “the central meeting place for industry, navies, procurement organizations, research institutions, start-ups, and international delegations.”
From September 1 to 4, more than 50 companies and organizations in the Naval Hall will present technologies and systems for naval vessels, maritime surveillance, communications, underwater applications, as well as further security and defence solutions at sea. In addition, more than 150 other exhibitors across the entire exhibition grounds will show dual-use technologies and solutions for civil and naval shipping.
“SMM has always evolved alongside the maritime industry. Maritime security, defence, and dual-use technologies have been an integral part of our exhibition and conference program for many years. With the Naval Hall, we are now taking the next step and creating a dedicated hall with its own stage,” says Claus Ulrich Selbach, Vice President Exhibitions Maritime & Energy at Hamburg Messe und Congress.
Technology Transfer
Another focus area is the transfer of new technologies into practical applications. The Innovation Center of the German Armed Forces (InnoZBw) will demonstrate how collaboration between start-ups, research institutions, and industry brings innovations to operational readiness more quickly. The offering is complemented by the Dual-Use Tech Newcomer Zone, Start-up Speaker Slots, and other innovation and networking formats that provide companies with a platform to present their solutions to an international professional audience.
“Today, innovations play a key role in defence capabilities and are also of central importance for maritime security. Especially in the area of dual-use technologies, insights from business, science, and the German Armed Forces can be brought together to significantly accelerate the path from idea to application. The Naval Hall creates the right conditions for this within the framework of SMM,” says Flotilla Admiral Bock, Head of the Innovation Center of the German Armed Forces.
Among the central program highlights in the Naval Hall is the MS&D – International Conference & Expo for Maritime Security & Defence. It will take place on September 3 and 4 on the Naval Stage and is freely accessible to all participants. Together with the sessions on September 1 and 2, a four-day specialist program is created that addresses technological developments as well as strategic questions of maritime security.
The agenda includes topics such as underwater systems, technological sovereignty, European cooperation in naval shipbuilding, maritime resilience, autonomous systems, as well as questions of industrial capability and procurement. The program of the MS&D Conference is managed by the German Maritime Institute (DMI). Sessions on the Naval Stage are organized by entities including Sea Naval – the European platform for exchange between navies, shipyards, and the maritime security and defence industry –, the Society for Maritime Technology (GMT), and the maritime think tank Nexmaris.
Innovation Meets Procurement
To ensure that innovations find their way into procurement processes more quickly, the Naval Hall offers targeted exchange and matchmaking formats between industry, procurement organizations, and potential suppliers. A central format is the BME Buyers’ Day, which will take place for the first time within the framework of SMM on September 1. It is organized in cooperation with the Association for Supply Chain Management, Procurement and Logistics (BME), Germany’s leading professional association for purchasing, supply chain management, and logistics. The focus will be on expanding European supply chains, shipyard capacities, autonomous systems, and access for new companies to the defence market.
Also featured is SVI Connect, a platform funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and run by the BME and the German Security and Defence Industry Association (BDSV). It digitally connects procurement organizations, the defence industry, and potential suppliers, making it easier for new and dual-use companies in particular to enter the defence supply chain.
