German Innovation Award for Vario-X: Murrelektronik receives award for cabinet-free automation

Murrelektronik has received the German Innovation Award for its automation platform Vario-X in the category “Excellence in Business-to-Business – Electronic Technologies”. The award recognizes an approach that fundamentally rethinks industrial automation: cabinet-free, modular, and implemented in a fully decentralized way directly at the machine.

With Vario-X, Murrelektronik is setting new standards in industrial automation. The platform consolidates all automation functions in a decentralized and fully electric architecture directly at the machine – from control and power supply to I/O signals and drive technology. This creates a scalable solution for modern production environments in the context of Industry 4.0. At the same time, it enables more compact machine designs, shorter cable runs, and a significantly reduced wiring effort.

Cabinet-free automation reimagined

At the core of the system is the Vario-X Station. A modular backplane allows function modules to be flexibly combined and installed directly in the machine. Based on CODESYS, Vario-X is open to different system environments and can be seamlessly integrated into existing architectures. Components from various manufacturers can also be incorporated. This enables Vario-X to meet key requirements of modern automation: greater flexibility, faster commissioning, and future-proof production concepts.

Through consistent decentralization, installation effort can be reduced by up to 40 percent. This is made possible by a fully pluggable plug-and-play concept as well as the use of a digital twin. In addition, the platform opens up new opportunities for predictive maintenance and simplifies future expansion of machines and systems.

The jury of the German Innovation Award particularly highlighted the high level of innovation and practical value of the solution. Vario-X provides a flexible, scalable, and future-proof foundation for Industry 4.0 applications, thereby sustainably increasing efficiency and operational reliability. At the award ceremony in Berlin, CEO Dr. Ulrich Viethen and Global Business Unit Automation Manager Markus Nigg personally accepted the award.

About the German Innovation Award

The German Innovation Award has been recognizing innovations since 2017 that combine technological progress with tangible value. It honors solutions with high innovative strength, industrial relevance, and sustainable impact, evaluated by an independent, interdisciplinary jury of experts from technology, digitalization, and science.

More about the recognition of Vario-X with the German Innovation Award here.