Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 refers to the introduction and use of digital technologies in the production sector. End-to-end data acquisition, modeling & simulation, control & regulation technology and cross-location data exchange can be used to ensure efficient and effective producibility of material goods.

The use of digital technologies in manufacturing processes and value chains, which has been driven forward in the last decade under the banner of Industry 4.0, offers a wide range of opportunities for Europe as a production location.

Improved data quality and availability in production and the use of specialized digital tools, such as simulation or artificial intelligence, allow production to be optimized in various dimensions. For example, special attention can be paid to the efficient use of materials and raw materials (zero waste), energy consumption can be reduced, or the use of input materials of different quality can be made possible without having to accept compromises in product quality.

A structured and standardized exchange of data and information between companies in a value chain is becoming increasingly important in that it can increase resilience by making availability, product quality, and delivery times available, as well as recording product characteristics such as the carbon footprint of preliminary products in order to meet requirements such as the Supply Chain Act or the Ecodesign Regulation.

Industry 4.0 is therefore an important building block for the dual transformation of the economy towards digital and sustainable production.