Research Council appoints Klaus Bauer as new Industry Spokesperson and Björn Sautter as Deputy

Munich, 22 January 2026

The Research Council Industrie 4.0 has appointed Klaus Bauer (TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen SE + Co. KG) as Industry Spokesperson. He previously served as Deputy Industry Spokesperson. Björn Sautter (Festo SE & Co. KG) succeeds him in this position. At the Research Council meeting on 21 November, the members present unanimously elected the two Industry Spokespersons for a three-year term. Together with Peter Liggesmeyer (Fraunhofer IESE), Spokesperson for Science, and Rainer Stark (TU Berlin), Deputy Spokesperson for Science, they form the Research Council’s Spokesperson team.

As Head of Research (Smart Factory Infrastructure) at TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen SE + Co. KG, development engineer Klaus Bauer brings his expertise to the Spokesperson team. Previously, he was responsible for the tool manufacturer’s base technologies division and, in this function, worked on fundamental topics such as intelligent connectivity, Smart Data and artificial intelligence, as well as related business model innovations. Since 2018, Bauer has been part of the Spokesperson team of the Research Council Industrie 4.0 as Deputy Industry Spokesperson. In addition, he is actively involved in numerous other organisations, including the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), the VDI/VDE Society for Measurement and Automation Technology, and Plattform Industrie 4.0.

Björn Sautter succeeds Klaus Bauer as Deputy Industry Spokesperson. He has been a member of the Research Council Industrie 4.0 since 2022. As Senior Expert Industrie 4.0 Ecosystems at Festo SE & Co. KG, he supports the company-wide strategic alignment of activities related to Industrie 4.0 and serves as a contact person for research cooperation and innovation networks in this field. Through the Industry 4.0 platform, he helped prepare the German government’s Manufacturing-X initiative and was most recently involved in its implementation in various roles, particularly in the Factory-X flagship project to create a collaborative digital ecosystem for factory equipment suppliers and operators.

Harald Schöning leaves the Research Council

Harald Schöning (Software AG) retired at the end of 2025 and therefore stepped down from his mandate on the Research Council Industrie 4.0. On behalf of the entire Research Council, Peter Liggesmeyer, Spokesperson for Science of the Research Council Industrie 4.0, expresses his thanks to Harald Schöning for his many years of commitment:

“During his many years of service as Industry Spokesperson of the Research Council Industrie 4.0, Harald Schöning provided important impulses for research and its implementation in practice. He made significant contributions. For this, the Research Council Industrie 4.0 extends its sincere thanks.”

Peter Liggesmeyer, spokesperson for science on the Industry 4.0 Research Advisory Board

About the Research Council Industrie 4.0

The Research Council Industrie 4.0 serves as a strategic and independent body that makes a key contribution to identifying research-based solutions for the further development and implementation of Industrie 4.0, thereby providing orientation with the overarching aim of strengthening Germany’s innovation system and value creation. Currently, the Research Council brings together 33 representatives from science and industry, who contribute their interdisciplinary expertise to formulate new, pre-competitively answerable research impulses and needs, outline medium- to long-term development perspectives, and derive courses of action for the successful implementation of Industrie 4.0. Research in the field of Industrie 4.0 increasingly focuses on topics such as sustainability, resilience, interoperability, technological and strategic sovereignty, and the central role of the human being. The work of the Research Council is coordinated by acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering, supported by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA), and funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).