The Megatrends that re(shaping) the industry

Industry 5.0 and the product of the future will be the result of the acceleration of the different transitions of industry 4.0, the current processes, products and people. The transition pathways will not be only a digital or technological shift but a global transformation of the mindset of people, policymakers and industry to embrace more broadly the components of the different transitions ongoing and linked to the megatrends for 2050, 2100 and beyond... and especially the scarcity of resources (skills, energy, raw materials, water...). Beyond the word “Ecological Transition”, it means more than only climate change!

The definition of a strategy roadmap for delivering sustainability values and building sustainable industry 5.0 and products, with different stakeholders and ecosystems, need to identify the potential contributions to sustainable development and the key megatrends that will reshape the industry : the future of industry demography, the future of the work, the new models of governance, geopolitics, new economics as the Green DealS, the radical or existing innovation, the circular economy, digital technologies as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics..., and the scarcity of the ressources (skill, raw material, energy, water, funding...). The industry should be innovative by gathering the existing and new blocks to build Industry 5.0 transition pathways by making industry, products, processes respect the planetary boundaries.

“Industry 5.0 should not be understood as a chronological continuation of, nor an alternative to, the existing Industry 4.0 paradigm. It is the result of a forward-looking exercise to help frame how European industry and emerging societal trends and needs can co-exist.” European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Breque, M., De Nul, L., Petridis, A., Industry 5.0 : towards a sustainable, human-centric and resilient European industry, Publications Office, 2021,