IPG Photonics Corporation, the global leader in fiber laser technology, has won the 2026 Innovation Research Interchange (IRI) Open Innovation Award alongside PPG and Whirlpool Corporation.


About the Awards
The IRI Innovation Excellence Awards, presented by the Innovation Research Interchange (a division of the National Association of Manufacturers), honor organizations and individuals whose vision and pursuit of excellence in research and development are shaping the industries of tomorrow. The program spans several categories, including Innovation in Sustainability, Outstanding Innovative Culture, Digital and Technological Innovation, Scientific Advancement, and Open Innovation.

The Open Innovation Award awarded to IPG Photonics, PPG, and Whirlpool Corporation recognizes outstanding collaboration that drives innovation beyond organizational boundaries, celebrating partnerships and approaches that accelerate progress through external engagement and shared expertise.


About IPG Innovation
The award-winning submission is The Heat Is On: Revolutionizing Paint Shops with Laser Technology. This collaboration seeks to increase the speed, efficiency, and sustainability of global industrial powder coat curing using high-performance and high-efficiency lasers as the heating source for coating and curing applications.
Laser powder coat curing uses a near infrared laser to rapidly gel then cure electrostatically applied powder coating particles on part surfaces. Traditionally, powder coatings have been cured in industrial ovens that utilize comparatively inefficient and imprecise heating methods like convection heating or infrared lamps. Laser curing, which can be implemented directly into existing curing lines, offers manufacturers significantly increased cost efficiency and curing speeds up to 10X faster.

IPG Photonics offers a complete portfolio of high-performance laser heating and curing solutions, including laser heating sources with integrated projection optics, laser heating workstations for in-house R&D, and PhotoniCURE™ Modular Laser Curing Systems designed for direct integration into high-throughput production environments.