ZeroKey Celebrates a Big Win at Hannover Messe's
16th Innovation World Cup®
It was an inspiring afternoon at the 16th Innovation World Cup pitch competition at Hannover Messe 2025! Over 350 startups and scale-ups competed to share new technology and cutting-edge innovations.
We’re proud and immensely honoured to have won the Industrial category, as voted by a distinguished panel of industry leaders, including:
- Laura Engelhardt, Head of Strategy and Transformation, Siemens
- Koen Geurts, Investment Manager, HTGF
- Juliane Salten, Project Manager Startup Machine Services, VDMA
- Max Stein, Project Manager, VDMA
- Simone Ferri, General Manager, STMicroelectronics
- Dr. Michael Hoeck, Co-founder Earlybird-X & Venture Partner, Earlybird
- René Blaue, Account Manager, EBV Elektronik
- Dieter Groß, Business Development Manager
- Dr. Harald Ranke, Innovation World Cup Ambassador Energy, former Managing Director Selas-Linde
- Thomas Waldmann, Start-Up & Venture Manager, Würth
- Julian Riedlbauer, Partner, Drake Star
- Guillaume Noel, Business Development Manager, CSEM
- Thomas Klem Andersen, Executive Director, DeepTech Alliance
About the Innovation World Cup® Series
Established in 2003, the Innovation World Cup® Series is the world’s leading open innovation platform, showcasing and connecting techpreneurs, startups, and innovative SMEs from around the globe. The competition serves as a catalyst for future innovations, shining a spotlight on emerging technology, solutions, and investment opportunities in high-growth industries.
Setting the Standard for Industrial Innovation
Out of 350+ companies worldwide, ZeroKey was selected by a panel of industry experts for our revolutionary approach to industrial digitization. This win reaffirms the transformative potential of Quantum RTLS™, our proprietary real-time location system technology that digitizes physical workflows with 1.5 mm accuracy.
Quantum RTLS: Digitizing the Physical World
ZeroKey’s industry-leading location sensor technology delivers hyper-accurate location awareness to factories, enabling:
Real-time operational visibility
Automated process verification
Enhanced worker safety and compliance
Elimination of bottlenecks and manual error
By digitizing real-time physical processes in 3D with unprecedented accuracy, Quantum RTLS tracks material movements, assembly processes, tool actions, forklifts, and robotics. This enables AI-powered solutions to make business-level decisions with holistic insights that surpass human capabilities.
Unlike traditional systems based on Radio Frequency like Ultra-Wideband (UWB) or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Quantum RTLS leverages proprietary ultrasonic technology, purpose-built to overcome interference and complexity in industrial environments—offering 100x more precision than legacy RTLS solutions.
Canadian Innovation, Global Momentum
This award not only highlights ZeroKey’s leadership in Industry 4.0, but also showcases the strength of Canadian innovation on the global stage. As part of Canada’s delegation at Hannover Messe 2025, we’re proud to represent a nation driving technological excellence. Backed by our partners at NGen Canada, Calgary Economic Development, ISED (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada), and the Trade Commissioner Service, we’re building on this momentum to scale globally, deepen industry partnerships, and accelerate the adoption of smart manufacturing—one millimeter at a time.
