Concepts and inspiration for the Green Lab lead the agenda at analytica 2026. The world’s leading trade fair for laboratory technology, analysis and biotechnology will be held in Munich from March 24 to 27, 2026.
Innovative analytical devices, less toxic chemicals, and more artificial intelligence: At analytica 2026, exhibitors and researchers from all over the world will show how daily lab work can be made more sustainable. “analytica sees itself as a guide to the Green Lab,” says Exhibition Director Susanne Grödl. Green Lab concepts are therefore a common theme running through the trade fair, the analytica conference, and the extensive supporting program.
New measurement technologies make a vital contribution to more sustainability in the laboratory. The best example of this are the “electronic noses” from Plasmion. The analytica exhibitor has developed an ionization technique for mass spectrometry that detects trace pollutants and other substances in solid, liquid, or gaseous samples – without any time-consuming sample preparation. That automatically reduces the consumption of chemicals and other materials.
In any case, much has already happened in instrumental analysis as far as sustainability is concerned. Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), which uses liquid CO2 as the mobile phase, also ensures greater sustainability. That not only saves organic solvents but also reduces the energy requirement, as less pumping is needed thanks to the lower viscosity of the supercritical CO2. All the major suppliers of SFC systems will be at analytica, including Agilent, Knauer, PerkinElmer, Shimadzu, Thermo Fisher, and Waters.
Mini components from the 3D printer
SFC chromatography is also on the agenda in the analytica conference session “Towards sustainable HPLC” (March 24, 09:30-11:30). The session will further focus on miniaturization, as smaller devices require fewer solvents and other chemicals. Microfluidic chips for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), for example, can be produced using 3D printers and connected to standard pumps and detectors. The session “Green analytical labs of the future” (March 25, 15:00-17:00) will also focus on miniaturization and 3D printing. The highlight here is a 3D-printed laboratory system called 2LabsToGo-Eco, which combines chromatography and bioassays, and is powered by solar energy.
analytica forums: regulation and best practice examples
For anyone wanting to find out about legal requirements for sustainability in the laboratory, the analytica forums are a must. Visitors will also learn through best practice examples how they can implement green concepts in their laboratory. They will find inspiration, among other things, for plastic consumables, which are practically indispensable for laboratories. It is good to know that analytica exhibitors such as Eppendorf, Integra, and Omnilab are already adapting their portfolios to focus on sustainability. Eppendorf, for example, is already producing tubes, pipette tips, and other selected consumables from biobased plastics.
Last but not least, digitalization and artificial intelligence play a key role in the Green Lab. After all, it is easy to save energy and consumables when AI calculates optimum workflows and test designs. Digital data acquisition and AI-supported evaluation also increase the knowledge gain, rendering some measurements completely superfluous. In the analytica special show “Digital Transformation”, visitors will experience digitized workflows in action.
“The Green Lab becomes reality when measures in the most diverse areas work in synergy,” emphasizes Susanne Grödl. “At analytica, we bring together players from along the entire value chain, thus setting the processes in motion that will make the Green Lab real.”