Interview with Wendy Bauer, Group President for 3M’s Transportation and Electronics Business Group

1. What do you want to present at IAA MOBILITY, or what will you be speaking about at IAA MOBILITY?

At IAA MOBILITY 2025, 3M will showcase how we are innovating to enable the next generation of mobility. We will demonstrate how advanced materials science is not only supporting, but actively driving, the evolution of electric vehicles, autonomous systems, seamless connectivity and increased personalization for consumers. This includes innovations in thermal management for batteries, lightweighting solutions, advanced adhesives for multi-material joining, innovative optical films for displays, electronics material solutions for electrical architectures, protective solutions, and more.

In my conversations with attendees and customers on-site, I plan to highlight how 3M's long history of scientific innovation is critical to solving complex engineering challenges and accelerating the industry's future. And during my Wednesday panel discussion with Samsung Display and Audi on the Main Stage, I’ll share my perspective on the rapid acceleration of industry innovation and how it’s transforming the ways 3M works together with companies across a wide area of technology areas.

2. Which technological developments do you think will have the greatest impact on mobility in the coming years?

Software-Defined Vehicle (SDVs) architectures represent a revolutionary shift in automotive design; they are fundamentally changing how vehicles are built and experienced. By centralizing computing and enabling flexible software control, SDVs allow for continuous over-the-air updates, delivering new features, optimizing performance, and enhancing safety remotely. This creates a constantly improving, personalized user experience and opens new revenue streams, but also leads to faster innovation cycles for manufacturers.

At 3M, we play a crucial role in enabling this software-defined future through bench-to-bench collaboration and materials science-based solutions. Our innovations are vital for protecting sensors, managing heat in powerful processors, enhancing in-cabin displays, lightweighting components, and ensuring robust connectivity with electronics materials solutions. While software defines the vehicle's intelligence and experience, 3M's materials provide the critical foundation that makes these sophisticated, connected and evolving vehicles a reliable reality that are more power efficient.

3. What are your goals for IAA MOBILITY 2025, and which topics are your main focus?

Our goal is to strengthen and expand our strategic innovation oriented partnerships with leading OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and technology companies that are shaping the future of mobility. These collaborative relationships enable us to more deeply understand emerging industry challenges around the globe in real time and empower our teams to work closely with customers on innovative solutions tailored to meet their needs.

A key area of focus for us is the increasing convergence of mobility with consumer electronics and semiconductors, and the integration of software with materials. We believe 3M is uniquely positioned to help OEMs and Tier suppliers bridge the gaps between these spaces and IAA Mobility offers a global platform for us to share how we can help and build important connections.

4. Which important future topic do you think is not receiving enough attention in the mobility debate?

Much of the conversation focuses on vehicles themselves – battery chemistries, emissions, lightweighting. But the bigger picture includes the roads, signs and infrastructure that support and connect mobility. How do we need to change road signs, license plates, and pavement markings to make sure they're ready for self-driving cars? What upgrades do we need in our data and connectivity systems to help self-driving cars talk to each other and the roads in real-time? Are we keeping up with the demand for new chips to support the latest software-driven car technologies? Do we have the infrastructure to manage and process the massive amounts of data generated?

At 3M, we’re in a unique position to help address all of these challenges. Our materials and technologies already play a critical role in everything from road safety and connectivity infrastructure to advanced electronics and thermal management in vehicles to advanced processing requirements for semiconductor wafer production. As mobility evolves, so does our ability to deliver these solutions—spanning the vehicle, the road and the underlying infrastructure that makes mobility innovation possible.

5. In which area of mobility do you see the greatest potential – and where is there still room for improvement?

I see significant opportunities for solutions that address assembly, disassembly, and repair challenges with electronics components and EV batteries. By innovating solutions with OEMs on the front-end, we can design and deliver better experiences across the vehicle’s lifecycle: flexibility during manufacturing, accessibility during use, and efficiency at the end-of-life.

6. Which partners or stakeholders would you like to connect with at IAA MOBILITY, and why?

At IAA MOBILITY, our teams will reconnect with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers on next-gen vehicle platforms, electronics, sensor, and electrical architecture solutions manufacturers on enhancements for displays and thermal and power management solutions, battery manufacturers on enhancements for improved performance and thermal management, and software/AI developers on optimization solutions for vehicle systems. We will have key technical leaders on-site in our booth and can use the event to discuss active challenges and their potential solutions. We also want to stay engaged with industry consortiums and global policymakers so that we can continue discussions around the future of mobility and appropriate regulation.

The fast-evolving automotive industry demands enhanced collaboration across technology areas. We must maintain continuous communication with OEMs and Tiers alike to understand challenges, foster ongoing partnerships with technical teams to develop solutions, and collaborate with institutional leaders to achieve optimal outcomes throughout the lifecycle.

7. How do you envision the future of mobility – and what specific changes do you expect in the next ten years?

I envision a future of mobility that is not only seamlessly connected, increasingly autonomous and deeply personalized, but also driven by new entrants in the market who are redefining the landscape. And while we can anticipate widespread electrification based on advancements in battery technology, charging infrastructure, and vehicle efficiency, I think traditional internal combustion vehicles will continue to have a prominent presence.

Overall, I believe we will see the rapid pace of innovation continue to accelerate as it reshapes user experiences, making them more intuitive and integrated with everyday life. This evolution will be fueled by strategic partnerships and collaborative problem-solving across the entire supply chain, which is why 3M is committed to working alongside our customers and partners to innovate what the industry need next.