The 30 best ideas come from 6 countries (Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, the USA, Austria and Germany) and will be presented for the first time as 2010 award winners at the "Würzburg Automotive Summit" on November 24, 2010. In 2010, the competition was once again looking for new ideas relating to the automobile, in particular from companies from "non-automotive" sectors.



For this year's competition, four main topics were specified that are of particular importance to the automotive industry:

- The vehicle, a special living space

- Communication and IT in the vehicle

- Eco Innovation - new ways to reduce C02 emissions

- Efficient and flexible production



The expert and independent jury examined the submitted proposals for their innovative strength and performance. It consisted of a total of 30 people, innovation managers, development managers and other experts, including 12 representatives of major car manufacturers.



"The international and cross-industry innovation competition is exactly the right tool to inspire the exchange of ideas and thus the transfer of knowledge in new topics," summarizes Wilhelm Missler, editor-in-chief of the trade journal "Automobil-Industrie" and co-organizer of the Würzburg Automotive Summit: "because that's exactly what the automotive industry needs right now like the desert needs water!"



Since its introduction in 2007, the NoAE innovation competition has continued to grow in 2010. The project was advertised in 10 languages via the NoAE online platform - Canada is the official partner country of the industry competition for the first time in 2010. Rainer Brüderle, Minister of Economics and Technology of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the 2010 patron.



During the six-month application phase, companies, inventors, universities and research institutes from 23 countries submitted over 420 registrations and innovations. This means that the figures from the previous "record year" 2009 were once again exceeded, with 380 registrations from 20 countries.



On March 17, 2011, the 30 NoAE award winners will be presented again at an international event in Düsseldorf.



Further information can be found at: www.wuerzburger-automobil-gipfel.de



About the "Würzburg Automotive Summit": The NoAE (Network of Automotive Excellence) and Vogel Business Media with the trade magazine "Automobil-Industrie" are making a joint contribution to sustainably increasing the competitiveness of Germany as an industrial location and its automotive industry.



About the NoAE: The NoAE (www.noae.com) is a cross-company initiative with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness and future of the European automotive and supplier industry. NoAE is organized in project initiatives and was founded in 2002 by well-known personalities from the automotive industry with the support of the European Commission. NoAE is a supra-regional partner of "Kompetenznetze Deutschland" of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.