Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnologie IPT
The future of 5G and 6G technology in industry: Completion of the EU project “TARGET-X”
- Bild-Infos
- Download
- 2 weitere Medieninhalte
The future of 5G and 6G technology in industry: Completion of the EU project “TARGET-X”
The future of industry has begun: The European research project "TARGET-X" stands for progress in the development and implementation of 5G technologies in industry. With a total funding of over 13 million euros, the EU supported this project, led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen. Goal of the project was to apply 5G mobile technology in the automotive, construction, energy, and manufacturing sectors. The 15 research partners also gained valuable insights for the future development of 6G technologies.
The interdisciplinary consortium of companies and research institutions aimed to advance the development of 5G and 6G technologies in industry. Notably, the project was diverse, involving the automotive, construction, energy, and manufacturing sectors, thus providing results for a wide range of technology applications. The so-called "Cascade Funding," a special form of project financing, allowed additional companies and research institutions to participate in the project alongside the main project consortium. This enabled them to address individual questions and challenges in collaboration with the consortium. Work with direct application relevance was conducted at five different test sites in two of the largest European testing facilities, the 5G-Industry Campus Europe in Aachen and the Idiada Automotive Testbed near Barcelona. The results now form a solid foundation for the next steps towards the introduction of 6G mobile technology for digital transformation.
Results for a wide range of applications
Overall, the project partners examined twelve use cases during the project and demonstrated how the use of 5G can yield benefits for manufacturing, robotics, construction, energy, and automotive sectors. A total of 66 projects were carried out through "Cascade Funding" with small and medium-sized enterprises and research institutions from Europe. Many participants gained access to industrially applicable 5G technology for the first time at the test sites and were able to test their ideas under realistic conditions.
Previously, 5G was only accessible to a small number of companies, often excluding small and medium-sized enterprises from application-oriented tests or actual use. The new form of project funding in the TARGET-X project opened opportunities for many of the participating companies to find touchpoints with the technology and gain application-oriented insights with the support of the project consortium.
Development of a Methodological Assessment Framework
The introduction of this relatively new technology into industry requires a deep understanding of its added value to achieve widespread acceptance. Within the TARGET-X project, the partners developed a so-called "Methodological Assessment Framework": a tool that allows companies in individual sectors to capture the individual added value of technology applications and to assess future industrial 5G and 6G use cases themselves.
All twelve use cases of the project were analyzed according to this principle. For the majority, new insights were gained, revealing the technical advantages of 5G for improving throughput, quality, safety, and sustainability of industrial processes. The 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA), as a leading global organization for the development of industrial 5G, has already incorporated this promising methodology into its service portfolio.
Important impulses for the development of 5G and 6G technology
A combination of proven 5G and new 6G functions proved crucial in the project for the implementation and evaluation of use cases. This included real-time communication with TSN over 5G, localization, interactivity, digital twins, and new spectral ranges such as millimeter wavelengths at 26-28 GHz. Aspects such as sustainability, security, and data protection of the developed solutions were also part of the project.
Successful closing event
During a closing event in Aachen with over 60 guests, the project partners presented their key results. Participants also visited various stations of the 5G-Industry Campus Europe with live demonstrations, gaining a more vivid impression of the applications of 5G and 6G technologies for various sectors. All project results are summarized in a brochure available for free download on the project website at https://target-x.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TARGET-X-TRIALS-BROCHURE_EXTERNAL-online.pdf.
The project "TARGET-X: Trial Platform for 5G Evolution – Cross-Industry On Large Scale" was funded for over 2.5 years by the "Joint Undertaking for Smart Networks and Services" (SNS JU) under Horizon Europe (Funding ID: 101096614).
Partner in the TARGET-X project
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Germany (Project Coordination)
- Ericsson GmbH, Germany
- Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University, Germany
- Chair of Individualized Production in Architecture (IP) of RWTH Aachen University, Germany
- Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems (ACS) of RWTH Aachen, Germany
- IDIADA AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY SA, Spain
- Center Construction Robotics, Germany
- FUNDACIO PRIVADA I2CAT, INTERNET I INNOVACIO DIGITAL A CATALUNYA, Spain
- Marposs SpA, Italy
- FundingBox Accelerator, Poland
- Ericsson Arastirma Gelistirme ve Bilisim Hizmetleri Anonim Sirketi, Turkey
- 5G Communications for Future Industry Verticals SL, Spain
- Marposs Monitoring Solutions GmbH, Germany
- Neutroon, Spain
- Mitsubishi Electric Europe BV, Netherlands
- FundingBox Communities, Spain
- Qualcomm Germany GmbH, Germany
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT
Steinbachstrasse 17 52074 Aachen Germany Phone +49 241 8904-0 is a constituent entity of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and as such has no separate legal status. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. Hansastrasse 27c 80686 München Germany www.fraunhofer.de info@zv.fraunhofer.de Editor: Susanne Krause M.A. Phone +49 241 8904-180 susanne.krause@ipt.fraunhofer.de
