09:00

Registration

10:00

[Block I] Requirements and trends in interior and exterior automotive lighting for the future

10:00

[Welcome remarks]

Dirk Reusch Dirk Reusch Group Director Automotive Publishing & Events automotiveIT, Automobil Elektronik & Automobil Produktion Peter Gresch Peter Gresch Managing Partner, OptE GP Consulting
10:10

[Keynote 1] Audi.Digital.Light Safety.Communication.Personalization

Modern intelligent lighting systems enhance the driving safety especially for nighttime driving. 
In combination with modern Automotive Driving Assistance Systems the safety benefit also includes daytime driving situations.
Exterior communication with lighting will be a need for future autonomous driving cars, the first “words” in communication are already existing.
This will let other road users profit from the ADAS of modern cars, they can obviously see the intention of the car, not only the driver intention.
This will be explained in detail with a first view on the all new Audi Q7 and additionally with a short glimpse on the Interior of the announced Audi Q9.

Stephan Berlitz Stephan Berlitz Head of Exterior Lighting Development, AUDI AG
10:40

[Presentation] Interior trends in China and Europe

Christophe Pincemin Christophe Pincemin Deputy General Manager Smart Interiors Business Unit & Executive Director Smart Surfaces & Lighting, Yanfeng
11:05

[Presentation] Light - the Fourth Material

Bentley has crafted wood, leather and metal for over 100 years. With the same attention to detail Bentley wants to craft light - The Fourth Material.
Naomi Saka, Lead Lighting Designer at Bentley, designs light and experiences with a software derived from the immersive art industry bridging design and production implementation. Moving from predefined sequences to adaptive dynamic experiences that are responsive to your journey. With this new way of working Bentley bridges design and production implementation on their Bentley bespoke ECU. She is inspired by things that are timelessly beautiful to humans, like the sun dancing on the ocean or light falling through leaves. 
The recent work on the Bentley EXP 15 was awarded Best Lighting Design Team at the CDN Awards, recognising a new era of curated, adaptive luxury.
 

Naomi Saka, Lead Lighting Designer, Bentley Motors, Speaker at Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Naomi Saka Lead Lighting Designer, Bentley Motors
11:30

[Presentation] Future technologies for exterior and interior lighting

Michael Bantel, Head of Interior Lighting Development Global, Speaker of Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Michael Bantel Head of Interior Lighting Development Global, HELLA Innenleuchten-Systeme GmbH
11:55

[Panel 1] Future of Lighing in the Automotive industry - Regional Differences, Challenges, Trends

Michael Bantel, Head of Interior Lighting Development Global, Speaker of Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Michael Bantel Head of Interior Lighting Development Global, HELLA Innenleuchten-Systeme GmbH Stephan Berlitz Stephan Berlitz Head of Exterior Lighting Development, AUDI AG Yves Peitzner Artist (working for Bentley),  Speaker at Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Yves Peitzner Independent artist & creative director, YVES Christophe Pincemin Christophe Pincemin Deputy General Manager Smart Interiors Business Unit & Executive Director Smart Surfaces & Lighting, Yanfeng Naomi Saka, Lead Lighting Designer, Bentley Motors, Speaker at Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Naomi Saka Lead Lighting Designer, Bentley Motors Peter Gresch Peter Gresch Managing Partner, OptE GP Consulting
12:40

Lunch Break

13:45

[Block II] Out-of-the-Box presentation – A look at other industries - archtecture, building design & furniture industry

13:45

[Presentation] Lighting System Development of the Future: Technical Challenges from the First Design Idea via AI Solutions to Series Production

The development of future automotive lighting systems is becoming increasingly complex, requiring interdisciplinary expertise from the first design concept to series production. This presentation highlights technical challenges and innovative solutions across different phases of the product development process.
Topics include the translation of initial lighting design ideas into feasible system architectures, AI-based approaches for lighting system simulation and optimization, as well as smart diagnostic and validation concepts for end-of-line testing in production environments.
Using practical use cases from automotive interior lighting development, the presentation demonstrates how intelligent software tools, connected system architectures, and data-driven engineering methods are transforming the development of next-generation lighting systems. The goal is to show how design ambitions, technological feasibility, and industrial scalability can be successfully combined.

Mathias Rönnfeldt Mathias Rönnfeldt Managing Director, SP3 GmbH
14:10

[Presentation] Switching lanes: The trends connecting automotive and architectural lighting

Architectural lighting is moving beyond basic illumination, with greater focus on visual comfort, integration, flexibility and sustainability. Anna Bernaldez Müller opens with a concise overview of the key trends influencing today’s lighting landscape, including optimum light quality and output, more responsive spaces and light source miniaturization, which gives designers greater freedom. Xavier Denis will then explore how specific developments in architectural lighting are being applied to automotive lighting inside and around the vehicle, supporting personalized user experiences, safety and wellbeing.

Anna Bernaldez Müller Head of Marketing, Nichia Europe GmbH, Speaker at Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Anna Bernaldez Müller Head of Marketing, Nichia Europe GmbH Xavier Denis, Nichia Europe GmbH, Speaker at Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Xavier Denis Head of Technical Support, Nichia Europe GmbH
14:40

[Presentation] Design Session

Dr. Dominique Heilborn Dr. Dominique Heilborn Director Ecosystem Partnerships, TactoTek
15:05

[Panel 2] How do other lighting trends influence the Automotive Lighting Industry, particularly in Interior Designs?

Dr. Dominique Heilborn Dr. Dominique Heilborn Director Ecosystem Partnerships, TactoTek Yves Peitzner Artist (working for Bentley),  Speaker at Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Yves Peitzner Independent artist & creative director, YVES Mathias Rönnfeldt Mathias Rönnfeldt Managing Director, SP3 GmbH Xavier Denis, Nichia Europe GmbH, Speaker at Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Xavier Denis Head of Technical Support, Nichia Europe GmbH
15:50

Coffee Break

16:20

[Block III] Technical development, regulations and outlook in exterior and interior lighting

16:20

[Presentation] Automotive multi-color ambient lighting applications with R, G, B, W LEDs - Challenges and opportunities

Automotive multi-color ambient lighting with RGB-W LEDs enables distinctive user experiences but must satisfy strict environmental and performance constraints. This talk outlines the automotive boundary conditions. Fundamentals of human color vision, and color mixing principles are reviewed to motivate system design.
Key challenges of RGB-W LEDs are discussed, such as brightness and color bins and the dependency of photometric and colorimetric behavior on forward current, and junction temperature. Resulting compensation needs are addressed via characterization and calibration approaches.
The role of cost-efficient automotive electronics is examined, focusing on MCU-based control without additional sensors, PWM resolution limits, and memory constraints. Finally, achievable performance is evaluated through statistical color gamut, color and flux accuracy.

Dr. Michael Olbrich, CEMM THOME SK, spol s.r.o, Speaker at Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Dr. Michael Olbrich Senior Optical Expert
16:45

[Presentation] ISELED Alliance – Update and outlook

Robert Isele Robert Isele GM / CEO, Inova Semiconductors GmbH
17:10

[Presentation] Trends in Regulations for Automotive Lighting and Light Signaling

The ECE regulations for lighting and light signaling describe the technical requirements for components and systems. New technologies require such regulations or extensions of existing regulations to be approved for use on the road.

This presentation provides an overview of the progress of the regulatory development in the GTB (Lighting and Light Signaling Expert Group) and the adoption process in the GRE (Groupe de Rapporteur de l'Eclairage) at the United Nations in Geneva. Work in progress and future projects will be presented. 

Dr. Wolfgang Huhn, President GTB (Groupe de Travail "Bruxelles"),  Speaker at Automotive Lighting Conference 2026 Dr. Wolfgang Huhn President of the GTB and Senior Advisor of DVN
17:35

[Closing remarks]

Peter Gresch Peter Gresch Managing Partner, OptE GP Consulting
17:40

Closing drinks and networking

19:00

The End