Endress+Hauser honors inventors at the 2026 Innovators’ Meeting

At the 2026 Innovators’ Meeting in Basel, Endress+Hauser honored the company’s inventors. 294 initial applications filed with patent offices worldwide last year, 41 new products and R&D expenditure of 281.4 million euros underscore the company’s innovative strength. In total, more than 9,400 active patents and patent applications protect the company’s intellectual property.

With its annual Innovators’ Meeting, Endress+Hauser honors the people behind its pioneering achievements. Developers from across the Group who have been involved in patent applications come together to exchange ideas and present their most notable inventions. “The Innovators’ Meeting highlights just how much expertise, creativity, teamwork and perseverance go into our products,” says Dr Mirko Lehmann, Chief Technology Officer of the Endress+Hauser Group.

The first Innovators’ Meeting took place in July 2001. Following a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic, it was held for the 25th time in 2026. Of the 101 innovators from the first meeting, 35 are still active in the company today. Fifteen of them filed patents again in 2025. At the same time, 89 inventors from Endress+Hauser were involved in a patent application for the first time.

“Our innovative strength thrives on the collaboration between experienced and new inventors. Endress+Hauser’s long-term focus and values-based culture create an environment where experience is passed on and new ideas can flourish,” says Dr Christine Koslowski, Director of Intellectual Property Rights at Endress+Hauser.

Endress+Hauser invested 281.4 million euros in research and development in 2025, 2.1 percent more than 2024. This represents 7.0 percent of sales. The slight decrease in this ratio compared with last year is attributable to accounting effects related to the acquisition of the gas instrumentation business from Endress+Hauser SICK. More than 1,300 employees at Endress+Hauser work exclusively in research and development, developing new solutions for customers across various industries.

Endress+Hauser’s innovation efforts are aimed at making industrial processes more efficient and sustainable. In addition to product development, this includes improvements in production, logistics, IT and administration. The internal Ecodesign & Circularity Award, introduced in 2025, recognizes solutions that combine environmental considerations, resource efficiency and technical benefits.

With the digitalization of measurement technology, the importance of firmware, connectivity and the instruments’ integration capabilities is becoming more significant. In addition, the company develops software-based solutions and services, including cloud applications and artificial intelligence-based approaches. Another key focus of the innovation efforts is the analysis and measurement of material properties.