Moderate growth in the laser market
The Technology Business Day traditionally kicks off the congress with several presentations on the current market situation. Dr. Thierry Robin (TEMATYS) identified moderate growth in the laser market, from 14.5 billion USD in 2024 to over 15.5 billion USD in 2025. Dr. Stefan Ruppik (Coherent), a member of the Executive Board of the VDMA’s Laser and Laser Systems for Material Processing Working Group, saw a very similar trend: The global market for laser material processing systems grew by 4 percent. However, Dr. Henrikki Pantsar (then still with TRUMPF) pointed out that investments by automakers in the U.S. have plummeted. Still, high spending on new data centers promises growing sales for laser manufacturers.
Dr. Bo Gu’s (BOS Photonics) presentation on the Chinese laser market was eagerly anticipated. Growth there remains solid, as evidenced by the trade shows held in China. According to Gu, LASER Shanghai set new records in March with 1,500 exhibitors and 58,000 visitors. In the Chinese market for laser material processing systems, he anticipates growth of 6 to 7 percent for both 2025 and 2026. The fiber laser market has grown by 9.8 percent, while the market for ultrashort-pulse (USP) lasers has grown by as much as 14.7 percent.
However, Gu’s figures on the market share of Chinese manufacturers in their home market were striking: For lasers with 3 to 6 kW of power, this share stands at 98 percent, and for those with >10 kW, it is about 80 percent. Thus, the Chinese laser market is firmly in domestic hands.
Photonics as a cross-sectional technology
While sales of laser-based machine tools are generally estimated at between 10 and 20 billion euros, the market for laser-enabled products is in the trillions. No smartphone, no computer chip, and hardly any car is produced today without the use of laser technology. Photonics is the cross-cutting technology that, with the help of lasers, optical components, and complex processes, enables the industry to make progress in these areas.
At AKL’26, trends in the application of photonic technologies were discussed under the heading “New Perspectives for Lasers in Science and Industry” during the Gerd Herziger session. Trevor Ness (IPG Photonics) presented a clear vision: “Lasers will become integrated, scalable, and intelligent.” Robots equipped with lasers will achieve significant productivity gains and will also work in environments where humans cannot.
The photonic components and technologies required for this are being developed today. They are increasingly digitized and offer ever-higher performance. “The average power of USP lasers,” says Dr. Jochen Stollenwerk, acting director of the Fraunhofer ILT in Aachen, “is reaching the double-digit kilowatt (kW) range thanks to developments at the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Advanced Photon Sources—CAPS.” For continuous-wave lasers, the power has now even exceeded 100 kW, according to representatives from various companies.
Prof. Constantin Häfner, Fraunhofer Executive Board Member for Research and Transfer, looked beyond these limits. He is focusing on fusion power plants and how they can be made a reality in Germany. They would also significantly transform the laser market: According to Häfner, the cost of laser diodes for just a few fusion power plants alone would exceed the volume of the current laser market. This means, first and foremost, that component costs will have to drop significantly in the future.
Lasers in the energy sector
With the Fusion Action Plan, the German government has not only announced more than two billion euros for fusion research, but has also set itself the goal of building the world’s first fusion power plant in Germany. In his plenary presentation, Constantin Häfner addressed the importance of the emerging fusion ecosystems for the future of fusion research in Germany: the pooling of national expertise—from science to industry—to achieve common goals.
The complex technological challenges offer enormous potential for tapping into spin-off markets and driving growth in the photonics market—ranging from industrial dry processes to space applications and the defense sector. The topic of fusion research was explored in depth during an entire session at AKL’26. Among other things, Prof. Markus Roth (TU Darmstadt, Focused Energy) presented his plans for a laser fusion facility at the Biblis site.
“Standard” high-power lasers are already in use today in power plant construction: “The energy sector is one of the first areas of application for laser systems with power outputs exceeding 50 kW,” states Dr. Alexander Olowinsky, head of the Joining and Cutting Department at Fraunhofer ILT. At such laser power levels, doors in wind turbines can be cut as can thick steel walls when nuclear power plants are decommissioned. Similarly, new containers with walls several decimeters thick can be welded using this technology.
Conference attendees were able to view a 50 kW system as part of the “Laser Technology Live” event on April 23, 2026, at Fraunhofer ILT, Europe’s largest R&D laser facility.
Automotive technology on the path to autonomous manufacturing
Automobile manufacturing is now highly automated. As digital tools, lasers fully demonstrate their advantages in this context. In his presentation “Next-Generation Battery Production and Challenges for Laser Technology,” Dr. Andreas Russ (Bosch Manufacturing Solutions) demonstrated what is possible today. Compared to 2015, both battery and machine sizes have multiplied. At the same time, the machines are becoming increasingly intelligent. The production line is networked, uses digital twins, and can make autonomous decisions based on simulations.
Markus Harke (Volkswagen) demonstrated how a German process is literally changing the world. Using high-speed laser material deposition—developed at Fraunhofer ILT—the company manufactures brake discs that produce 90 percent less fine dust. This not only protects the environment but also meets the Euro 7 standard. And it enables largely automated production, which is now taking the world by storm. “With such high production volumes, the laser is no longer the cost driver,” comments Dr. Thomas Schopphoven, head of the Laser Material Deposition Department at Fraunhofer ILT. “It’s primarily the material costs for the filler materials.”
Lasers in the aviation industry reduce costs and emissions
Up to 3 percent fuel savings for aircraft—that’s the promise of the “shark skin” technology from 4Jet GmbH in Alsdorf near Aachen. This technology, which won the “Innovation Award Laser Technology 2026,” enables large-scale micro-machining using a CO₂ laser. It uses interference patterns for machining, allowing over 1,000 “riblets” to be created in a single pass. The technology generates microstructures across large surfaces that reduce aerodynamic drag. The company now has more than 800 systems in operation; they are used in the aviation, semiconductor, and solar industries.
In addition, many laser processes have become standard practice, particularly in laser material deposition. Companies such as Rolls-Royce are successfully using these methods to repair engines and are continually refining them.
Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT
