Research and Development

NORMA Group’s research and development activities aim to identify technological trends at an early stage and address them in a targeted manner. This is intended to optimally support the achievement of strategic corporate goals. The focus is on developing new products and system solutions in order to tap into new markets and customer groups in the best possible way. NORMA Group’s approach is to assess new technologies based on the extent to which they serve to optimize existing processes, minimize the use of materials or further improve the functionality and sustainability of the end products. NORMA Group’s goal is to generate added value for its customers. The focus is on innovative and high-quality solutions for the global challenges of the respective end markets. Efficient use of resources and environmental protection play an important role alongside specific market and customer requirements.

As a Group function, the R&D departments equally support the strategic business units Industry Applications and Mobility & New Energy, as well as the Water Management area. This enables optimized cross-regional cooperation between the teams and close integration of development activities with the business development teams (Sales and Application Engineering). The pronounced global focus of the business units enables more targeted and efficient working on the tasks that lie ahead. At the same time, topics and projects continue to be prioritized in line with strategic requirements, by the Innovation Council and Global Product Management, for example.

Further general information on the central activities of NORMA Group’s research and development department is described in detail in the ANNUAL REPORT 2024.

In the first six months of 2025, innovation projects on technologies, product concepts, manufacturing techniques and materials were driven forward in a focused manner in key areas. In addition to digitalization, key topics included applications from the fields of stationary energy storage systems, aviation, the household goods industry and piping systems for heat pumps. Research and development activities were spread evenly across the three strategic business units Industry Applications, Water Management and Mobility & New Energy.

One of the many areas of application in the Industry Applications business area includes products for thermal management systems in the field of stationary energy storage. In the first six months of 2025, the activities in Industry Applications also focused on identifying synergy potential in order to create adapted application options for NORMA Group’s products already established on the market. Recent examples of this include metallic joining and sealing elements for household goods applications, as well as for piping and fastening systems for potential aviation applications, which reflect the result of close cooperation between the Industry Applications and Mobility & New Energy business units.

In Water Management, research and development activities continued to focus on global, market-oriented and innovative solutions for the efficient use of water as a resource. The focus was on control solutions for irrigation applications and product extensions in stormwater. In line with NORMA Group’s objectives with regard to its social and ecological responsibility, further initiatives were also pursued in the Water Management business area to expand the use of sustainable and recycled raw materials and plastics in product and process design. Finally, another focus was on cross-functional and cross-regional collaboration between research and development teams in order to be able to offer NORMA customers valuable and differentiated business solutions worldwide.

In Mobility & New Energy, thermal management for batteries and systems in the field of electromobility remains one of the core topics. The associated research and development processes aim at new solutions for improved efficiency and performance. In addition, Mobility & New Energy continued to work on the continuous improvement of products in terms of standardization, robustness, resource conservation and weight savings in the current reporting period. Many new product ideas and resulting patent applications underline the previously described focus of the research and development teams’ work.