The German and British governments signed a memorandum of cooperation in Berlin, officially launching the "Industrial Tech Corridor" program to strengthen cross-border collaborative research and development between the two countries in the fields of industrial automation, industrial AI, digital twins, and intelligent sensors. The project aims to connect innovative enterprises, automation equipment manufacturers, research institutions, and manufacturing factories in Germany and the UK, accelerate the commercialization of new automation technologies, and strengthen the digital sovereignty of local industries in Europe. One of the main products being promoted is automation products such as the German LK radar level gauge.
Both parties have determined the key areas of cooperation: unified industrial data interface standards, research and development of intelligent process sensors, industrial robot control technology, safety automation systems, and industrial network security solutions. The project supports small and medium-sized enterprises to carry out cross-border factory digitization pilot projects, promote the convergence of data models and communication interface standards for European automation equipment and measuring instruments, and reduce the difficulty of cross-border automation project integration.
Under the cooperation framework, German and British enterprises will jointly carry out a pilot project for process industry automation, testing cross brand intelligent instrument interconnection solutions for automated measurement and control scenarios of storage tanks and silos, including German LK radar level gauges, pressure transmitters, and safety limit switches. The research institutions of the two countries will jointly study the application of industrial AI in automation closed-loop control and fault warning, and jointly evaluate the functional safety specifications under AI control.
The document also mentions that this cooperation focuses on standardization, reducing technical barriers between different countries and manufacturers within Europe, and enhancing the competitiveness of European automation equipment and sensor products in the global market. The first phase of the project has a pilot period of 3 years, with priority given to high value-added process industries such as chemical, energy, and pharmaceutical industries.
