Henning Kagermann awarded Honda Prize for the strategic initiative Industrie 4.0

Tokyo, 30 September 2020

Japan’s Honda Foundation awards Honda Prize 2020 to Chairman of the acatech Board of Trustees and former acatech President Henning Kagermann, in recognition of his achievements in pioneering the concept of Industrie 4.0. The online presentation ceremony will be held on 17 November 2020.

The report “Recommendations for implementing the strategic initiative Industrie 4.0” has had an enormous impact. The final report of the Industrie 4.0 Working Group chaired by Henning Kagermann heralded the coming of the fourth Industrial Revolution. It is for this reason that Japan’s Honda Foundation has awarded the Honda Prize 2020 to Chairman of the acatech Board of Trustees, Henning Kagermann. Henning Kagermann pioneered the concept of “Industrie 4.0” to describe the paradigm shift brought about by digital connectivity, showing the world how society can shape the fourth Industrial Revolution in order to foster economic growth and benefit society.

In its citation, the Honda Foundation traces the development of the term “Industrie 4.0”. In 2011 and 2012, there was lively debate in Germany over the ongoing convergence of the physical and digital worlds. acatech had guided this debate through its studies on cyber-physical systems. Together with Wolfgang Wahlster (German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence – DFKI) and Wolf-Dieter Lukas (Federal Ministry of Education and Research – BMBF), Henning Kagermann coined the term “Industrie 4.0” to describe the profound impacts of the fourth Industrial Revolution brought about by digital connectivity. He also chaired the Industrie 4.0 Working Group that, in 2013, published its final report, containing recommendations for implementing a strategic initiative Industrie 4.0.

Following the presentation of the report to Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel at the 2013 Hannover Messe, the Industrie 4.0 concept provided the foundation for a strategic initiative aimed at government, civil society, science and industry. 2013 also saw the establishment of the Plattform Industrie 4.0, which continues to support the digitalization of industry to this day. Henning Kagermann has been the Global Representative and Advisor of the Plattform Industrie 4.0 ever since it was founded, promoting partnerships around the world. Japan became one of the leading partner countries, and Germany’s Industrie 4.0 initiative prompted it to develop Society 5.0, its fifth basic plan for science and technology.

The Honda Prize has been awarded annually by the Honda Foundation since 1980. This international award recognises the work of individuals or groups generating new knowledge to drive the next generation. The Honda Foundation is a public interest incorporated foundation established by Soichiro Honda and his younger brother Benjiro. Its current President is Hiroto Ishida.