Innovation Can Be Shaped – German Innovation Award 2027
Only 13% of companies in Germany count among the innovation-strong leaders in 2026. The share of innovation-weak companies has risen to nearly 40%. The will to innovate is present in many businesses, but the structures that support it often fail to keep pace. This is exactly where the German Innovation Award comes in. It puts products, technologies, services or processes in the spotlight that show how innovation reaches practice. The submission phase is now open.
The Path to the Top Is Getting Narrower
According to the study “Innovative Milieus 2026”, commissioned by the Bertelsmann Stiftung from more than 1,100 companies, German industry is losing momentum in innovation. At the same time, the study shows that innovation strength can be shaped. Companies with clear innovation strategies, targeted cooperation and systematic investment in skills achieve measurable progress, regardless of their size.
Systems That Carry Innovation Are in Demand
The “German Innovation Spotlight 2026”, produced by the German Design Council together with the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research, reached a similar conclusion. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sven Schimpf, Managing Director of the Fraunhofer-Verbund Innovationsforschung and member of the German Innovation Award jury, says: “Many companies know exactly where their potential lies. What matters is whether they succeed in turning individual innovation initiatives into robust systems that consistently bring together speed, technologies, data and user focus.”
The “German Innovation Spotlight 2026” is available for free download at:www.german-innovation-award.de/news/detail/neue-studie-german-innovation-spotlight-2026
Solutions That Show Innovation at Work
The German Innovation Award of the German Design Council recognises products, projects and strategies that successfully turn innovation into practice. Awards are presented in the categories Excellence in Business to Consumer and Excellence in Business to Business, as well as in the special categories AI Methods, Circular Impacts and Transformative Solutions. Projects can be submitted until 5 February 2027 at www.german-innovation-award.de
Portraits of Gold Winners
The following portraits of Gold winners of the German Innovation Award 2026 show how an idea becomes a project that works in practice. Read here:
- how mattresses can be rethought as a source of raw materials;
- how AI can be applied responsibly in the children’s room;
- how state-of-the-art laboratory diagnostics can work at the point of care.
An Independent Jury from Research and Industry
An independent, interdisciplinary jury decides on the awards. Its members are experienced figures from research and industry. The jury includes:
- Dr Frederike Fritzsche (Chief Tech Transformation Officer, Otto)
- Isabelle Gola (Global Head of Sustainability, Bosch Power Tools)
- Dr Elias Knubben (Vice President Global Innovation, Festo)
- Marcel Moritz (Global Head of Design & Innovation, BLANCO)
- Dr Matthias Müller (Executive Vice President Corporate R&D and New Ventures, SCHOTT)
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sven Schimpf (Managing Director, Fraunhofer-Verbund Innovationsforschung)
- Dr Christopher Stillings (Vice President Research & Development, Envalior)
- Prof. Dr Anabel Ternès von Hattburg (President, Club of Budapest Germany)
Jury members are available to media representatives for interviews.
“For me, the German Innovation Award is an opportunity to look behind the innovation promise. Especially with AI, I want to understand what difference a solution makes for the people who work with it.”
– Dr Frederike Fritzsche, Chief Tech Transformation Officer, Otto
How the German Innovation Award Defines Innovation
The German Innovation Award understands innovation as a novel solution that is effective, relevant and implemented in practice. It can take the form of a technology, product, service, process, business model or integrated concept, wherever it creates a tangible benefit for users, markets or society. Innovation does not have to change everything. Targeted improvement of a single area or aspect can also make a decisive difference.
