Global automation giant Festo deepens local cooperation, empowering innovation in China's new energy sector
Festo, a German enterprise with a century-long history in the global industrial automation field, chose to deepen its strategic cooperation with Wuxi LEAD Smart Equipment Co., Ltd. (LEAD), a leading Chinese new energy equipment manufacturer, on the occasion of its centennial anniversary. On June 5th, the "Festo x LEAD Innovation Day" jointly hosted by both parties concluded successfully in LEAD's industrial park. With the theme of "Intelligent and Electric Dual Drive, Win-Win Cooperation", the event focused on the pain points of intelligent transformation in the lithium battery industry and provided innovative solutions for the upgrading of the global new energy industry chain.

Four thematic exhibition areas unlock technological ecosystems, strategic dialogues anchor global layout
At the event, Festo took the "full-process technology matrix" as the core and systematically presented complete solutions ranging from pneumatic components to digital platforms through lithium battery-themed exhibition boards. The four specially created interactive bazaars became the focus:

• Conventional Pneumatic and Electric Drive Zone: Demonstrating the application of high-precision control technology in electrode manufacturing, cell assembly, and other processes;
• New Generation Valve Terminal Platform VTUX: Achieving a 30% reduction in energy consumption through modular design;
• Festo AX Digital Platform: Breaking down equipment data silos through IoT technology and enabling predictive maintenance for intelligent production lines;
• "Thank You" Gratitude Interactive Zone: Collecting over a thousand user feedback through open questionnaires to inject front-line needs into localized R&D.
  During the closed-door roundtable meeting, senior executives from both parties engaged in in-depth dialogues on "technological collaborative innovation and supply chain optimization." Facing the intensifying international competition in the lithium battery industry, Festo's Global Vice President emphasized, "Only by deeply integrating Germany's Industry 4.0 genes with China's scenario-specific demands can we achieve a dual drive of technological breakthroughs and cost optimization." The Chairman of LEAD Group proposed specific cooperation directions such as "overseas compliance certification," clarifying the path for the next stage of strategic implementation.

Online and offline linkage covers the entire industrial chain, technology sinking aids cost reduction and efficiency increase
In the technical session held in the afternoon, the "main venue + live streaming" mode was adopted, radiating to LEAD Group's R&D bases nationwide. The Festo technical team focused on analyzing:

• Electro-pneumatic integrated automation topological architecture: Improving module assembly efficiency by 25% through collaborative control of pneumatic actuators and servo systems;
• Overseas project safety and compliance system: Providing full-process solutions for CE certification and functional safety standards in European and American markets;
• Operational practice case library: Sharing practical experience of a leading battery enterprise reducing production line failure rates by 40%.
  At the end of the event, both parties signed a joint innovation plan and announced the establishment of an "Automation Standard Working Group for the Lithium Battery Industry" to regularly produce technical white papers and talent training systems. The General Manager of Festo China stated, "This cooperation is not just a technical display, but also an important milestone in building a global new energy equipment ecosystem with China as the innovation hub."

With the "dual carbon" strategy advancing deeply, the demand for intelligent lithium battery equipment is growing exponentially. The deep collaboration between Festo and LEAD Group marks a transformation of foreign-funded enterprises and Chinese manufacturing from "product supply" to "value coexistence." In the future, both parties plan to replicate this cooperation model in fields such as hydrogen energy and photovoltaics, injecting dual momentum of "Chinese solutions" and "German technology" into the sustainable development of the global new energy industry.