Metaverse has become a buzzword in the tech industry. Not a single day goes by without the media mentioning it, especially in the context of investments, start-ups, new platforms, and companies entering the world of digital engagement. There is a massive momentum towards an almost real 3D virtual world. Facebook even rebranded itself as Meta, which may be remembered as a red-letter moment in the evolution of the metaverse. 

The wind energy scene is certainly never short of excitement. The sector was only in its infancy a generation ago. The scale of growth in recent years has been astonishing: Wind energy has become a vital and indispensable part of Europe's energy system. Today it makes up 17% of all electricity generated in Europe. By 2050 the European Commission wants it to be as much as 50%. But there are many hurdles to overcome on this victory march.

With energy prices at an all-time high, it is now more important than ever for maintenance teams to focus on detecting compressed air leaks at their industrial facilities. As electricity prices keep going up, generating compressed air becomes more and more expensive – detecting and fixing leaks becomes now a priority.

Acoustic Lubrication is just one of the 8 application pillars adopted by world-class ultrasound programs. And what an important one it is. Poor lubrication practices account for as much as 40% of all premature bearing failures. When ultrasound is utilized to assess lubrication needs and schedule grease replenishment intervals, that number drops below 10%. What would 30% fewer bearing related failures mean for your organization? Keeping up with the changes in on-condition bearing lubrication techniques is challenging. Technology advancements from SDT’s LUBExpert allows us to transform complex processes into a simple procedure.

Significant advancements are being made to digitalise and automate industrial operations. Critical infrastructure is becoming more and more digitally connected to make society safer, bring down costs and increase efficiency. But digital transformation carries emerging risks. Rising geopolitical tensions, war in Europe, a cost-of-living crisis, energy supply shocks and widespread food insecurity are shining a light on just how vulnerable critical infrastructure is the more connected it becomes.

The term ‘Operational Excellence’ refers to an excellent and flawless way of working to meet the highest expectations of customers. Maintenance obviously plays an important role in this.  The term excellence is therefore also becoming ‘common knowledge’ in this area. With ‘Maintenance Excellence’ we aim for the best performance of our assets. A nice challenge, but how do you roll out this way of working to multiple locations around the world?

Hydrogen is one of the key players in the energy transition. Plans envisage using existing natural gas infrastructure for its transport and storage. Relying on fracture-mechanics analysis, TÜV SÜD assesses the integrity and remaining service life of pipelines intended for hydrogen transport and storage, considering hydrogen embrittlement of steel and aspects such as crack initiation and propagation in a hydrogen atmosphere.

Our modern world is in a phase of industrial metamorphosis. Novel solutions have been developed for circular economics and are urgently needed to help clean up the consequences of past negligence. Microbes are present everywhere, so why not make use of them as workhorses in biobased production? For more effective but softer solutions.

Every day experienced and capable people are trying to second-guess the maintenance requirements of the machines that populate their plants. The reason is simple: an effective maintenance program increases uptime, decreases maintenance costs, reduces unplanned outages, and extends the lives of assets. In today’s highly competitive market, companies of all sizes are looking for ways to run a leaner and more efficient operation.

Many trends and perspectives impact how asset management strategies are formulated and implemented. My thesis, "Supporting strategic asset management in complex and uncertain decision contexts," explored this topic and won the EFNMS 2021 Ph.D. Award competition. Due to covid, the official award ceremony was postponed to the Euromaintenance conference that will be arranged in April 2023. Currently, the key topics of the thesis are increasingly crucial for organizations.