Become part of Formnext and our multi-stage concept! We invite you as industry experts, AM users and technology providers to contribute your know-how and share it with the Formnext community.
The AM world shines thanks to talented, motivated people who continue to advance the technology and thus drive the entire industry. It’s therefore only fitting that their ideas should receive the time in the spotlight they deserve – for the good of the industry and the forward-thinking development of modern production as a whole.
“To keep moving forward, the AM industry needs a constant supply of new and forward-looking ideas and innovators. So, we want to do more than just give outstanding people, companies, and organizations a stage. We also want to help them network and connect with potential customers, partners, and investors.”
"It’s not just start-ups and new companies who benefit from exchanging ideas, showcasing their businesses, and networking with potential customers, partners, and investors. Therefore, we now want to reach out to the growing diversity of the AM industry through our Formnext Awards as well and recognize the achievements of an even broader range of disciplines.“
At the last Formnext, the new awards format and the winners of the six categories attracted considerable international attention.
In 2025, we will write the next chapter in this success story by once again presenting the Formnext Awards in six different categories.
Spotlight on your ideas
The finalists’ submissions and exhibits will also be showcased at Formnext.
The finalists will be selected by the panel of judges, and the overall winners will be chosen at Formnext, with the help of a public vote. The winners will be presented at the award ceremony on the evening of Thursday 20 November 2025.
Formnext’s on-site and online visitors will have the opportunity to vote for one of the finalists in each of the six categories and thus help determine the final result. In addition to the unique Formnext Award trophy designed by SUTOSUTO, the winners will also receive attractive prize packages.
Start your submission in the category you want to submit to.
Categories & submission criteria
Enter the Formnext Awards, which will be conferred on aspiring young companies, future-oriented sustainable business models, and cutting-edge technologies, and much more. The Formnext Awards are looking for rookies, revolutionaries, and more – there is sure to be a category in which you can shine.
We look forward to your submissions and wish you the greatest success! If you have any questions, please contact Caroline Muders.
For a relatively new technology like Additive Manufacturing it is important to have individuals or initiatives that pave the way and speed up the adoption of the technology. The AMbassador Award honors individuals or organizations who provide real impact on the industry through training and educational programs or their personal advocacy.
The following questions are submitted and evaluated by the jury:
What is your connection to AM?
Describe your project and which challenge does it tackle?
Describe your projects technical excellence & level of novelty according to the following criteria: Practical applicability, technical focus, innovation of the concept, change process, actuality, novelty factor and relevance
How do you personally or your project impact society or industry? (impact, range, focus on industry, impact on society, durability and effectiveness of your impact, educational excellence and impact on people)
Senior Program Manager, MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Submit your application with a short video (max. 1 minute) and convince the jury from your submission. Further details can be found in the online application form.
Additive Manufacturing provides an unrivaled degree of design freedom. To merely apply AM for aesthetical purposes, however, is short sighted. By identifying concepts that take into account aesthetical and functional aspects, the Design Award is bound to highlight the importance of smart and ingenious design for AM.
Founder – Bits to Atoms and the CDFAM Computational Design Symposium Series
Oliver Tessmann
Professor Digital Design Unit – TU Darmstadt
Anouk Wipprecht
FashionTech Designer and Engineer
Submit your application with a short video (max. 1 minute) and convince the jury from your submission. Further details can be found in the online application form.
Additive technologies are developing fast and it is hard to keep track. Even exceptional products that are groundbreaking and advance the adoption of AM considerably may be missed by AM end users. In order to change that, we invite Formnext exhibitors to pitch their products and services to our jury. Stand out from the crowd and enter your submission today.
Professor of Management and Director of Research, University of Bristol Business School
Melissa Orme, PhD.
Vice President – The Boeing Company
Submit your application with a short video (max. 1 minute) and convince the jury from your submission. Further details can be found in the online application form.
Do you have a convincing idea in the AM sector, but have not been able to get it off the ground? Are you looking for support and first contacts into the AM industry? Then the Rookie Award at Formnext is the right award to promote and develop your idea.
The Rookie Award is for bright minds,
whose company has not been yet founded or was founded less than a year ago
with a convincing business idea in the AM sector
for whom no significant investment (with the exception of pre-seed funding, angel funding or government funding) has been made yet
Product Line Manager Additive Manufacturing – nLight Inc.
Dr.-Ing. Sascha Schwarz
Managing Director – TUM Venture Labs
Prof. Dr. Peter Mayr
Head of Department Materials Engineering,
Professor Werkstofftechnik der Additiven Fertigung
Technische Universität München
Heather Swift Hunt
Head of Design & Tech, Kickstarter
Submit your application with a short video (max. 1 minute) and convince the jury from your submission. Further details can be found in the online application form.
Set the course for the future of your start-up in the AM world, expand your network and convince potential investors. Winning the Start-up Award will give you a substantial boost and provide a big entry in the world of AM.
For inspiring young companies with viable business models, that…
were founded within the last five years
annual turnover must not exceed 10 million euros
have developed at least one marketable product (sample, prototype or beta version) that corresponds to the list of approved product groups in order to exhibit at Formnext
Product Line Manager Additive Manufacturing – nLight Inc.
Dr.-Ing. Sascha Schwarz
Managing Director – TUM Venture Labs
Prof. Dr. Peter Mayr
Head of Department Materials Engineering,
Professor Werkstofftechnik der Additiven Fertigung
Technische Universität München
Heather Swift Hunt
Head of Design & Tech, Kickstarter
Submit your application with a short video (max. 3 minutes) and convince the jury from your submission. Further details can be found in the online application form.
The AM technology is often referred to as a sustainable technology. This may be true in some cases. The real value may, however, only be found during the product’s life cycle. The Sustainability Award will assess exactly that. Not only the production phase, but the full life cycle of AM use cases and products.
The special value of this award:
Direct combination of AM and sustainability using an LCA (Life Cycle Assessment),
not limited to individual materials and manufacturing processes
The following questions are submitted and evaluated by the jury:
Describe your use case in general (material/industry sector and field of use/market size and potential growth rate/scalability/transferability to other market segments).
What is the challenge that your project is tackling?
What is the USP of your project?
Describe the life cycle assessment of your use case along the process chain using an LCA matrix.
Please provide an analysis that illustrates the full business case and analyzes the impact of the AM implementation strategy beyond the part-by-part comparison.
Which of the 17 UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) does your use case address?
Professor for Manufacturing Technologies and Machine Tools –
FH Aachen, University of Applied Science
Dr. Mohsen Seifi
Vice President Global Advanced Manufacturing Programs –
ASTM International
Sherri Monroe
Executive Director –
Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association, AMGTA
The basis of your application is a questionnaire, which is based on the questions of an LCA matrix and a business case analysis. Details on the requirements and questions that the analysis should answer, as well as an example, can be found in the online application form.
Submit your application with a short video (max. 1 minute) and convince the jury from your submission. Further details can be found in the online application form.
Would you like to take part in the awards and need assistance? Or do you want to help make the AM world turn even faster and support further development? There is still space on the sponsor wall!
