1. In just a decade, Industry 4.0 has revolutionized the day-to-day operations of many companies in the manufacturing sector. Thanks to the technological advances that have emerged over the last few years, these organizations have been able to increase their efficiency and productivity. Now experts are opening the door to a new concept: Industry 5.0.
2. Manufacturing is one of the biggest drivers of the European economy. Proof of this is that, between 2009 and 2019, it accounted for around 20% of the EU’s GDP. Moreover, according to 2020 data, it is a sector that employs more than 35 million people.
3. Yet, while European industry has decades of experience and is one of the most competitive in the world, it is exposed to an increasingly complex and volatile geopolitical and economic landscape. It is these constant challenges that push it to continually innovate, to further improve its efficiency at different points in the value chain; to be more flexible to the changing demands of the global consumer, and to work to maintain its leadership as a global benchmark for quality.
4. To a large extent, this innovation effort is reflected in the intensive use of new technologies, essential tools for automating, interconnecting and optimizing industrial processes. Indeed, the fourth industrial revolution represents the sector’s ambition to adopt and implement technological advances to cope with an increasingly changing world and economy.
5. Now, after a decade in vogue, it seems that what we know as Industry 4.0 is clearing the way for a new concept that goes beyond pure technological change in the factory. We are referring to Industry 5.0, a vision that is beginning to gain prominence and that has come to place, at the center of the industrial revolution, its capacity to have a positive impact on society.
