Research Council presents a strategy paper setting out a vision for Industrie 4.0 in 2035 – four roadmaps provide guidance on research and development needs

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Munich, 16 April 2026

In its strategy paper, the Research Council Industrie 4.0 presents a vision for Industrie 4.0 over the next five to ten years. It outlines a framework for future research and development needs, which are reflected in the four roadmaps covering the topics of ‘business models’, ‘engineering’, ‘the future of work’ and ‘sustainability’. The paper thus contributes to the German government’s Hightech Agenda. At stake are the future of Germany as an industrial hub and the country’s prosperity: research and development into Industrie 4.0 and the deployment of Industrie 4.0 technologies are key drivers of competitiveness, value creation and sovereignty. To this end, the interaction between science, business and politics is crucial, which is addressed in the strategy paper. Industrie 4.0, as a central guiding principle, offers a relevant vision for the future of a competitive and sustainable industry, not least through the use of artificial intelligence.

The forward-looking ‘Industrie 4.0’ initiative remains highly relevant 15 years after its launch. The challenging geopolitical and economic climate, coupled with competition from technological developments abroad, is placing immense pressure on industrial value creation and Germany’s position as a manufacturing hub. Despite the successes achieved, extensive research activities and progress in digitalisation, a comprehensive Industrie 4.0 implementation has not yet been achieved across the board in companies. Much of the potential offered by Industrie 4.0 has therefore not yet been fully exploited. The Research Council is responding to this with its strategy paper, which provides a decisive framework for industrial transformation and strategic direction up to 2035.

Target Vision Industrie 4.0

The Research Council’s 2035 vision outlines how Industrie 4.0 could look at the heart of the economy in the future and identifies untapped potential: Germany continues to possess a strong, highly innovative industrial core which, through Industrie 4.0, enables the ongoing renewal of the national economy and safeguards competitiveness, resilience, sovereignty and prosperity. In future, companies will collaborate within dynamic, digital ecosystems and exchange data securely and interoperably across organisational boundaries. This will give rise to AI-supported smart services and highly flexible production systems that analyse and optimise processes autonomously. As a result, high-quality products can be manufactured in modular, decentralised production facilities in the shortest possible time.

Industrie 4.0 concepts offer decisive competitive advantages to numerous industrial sectors – not only in mechanical and plant engineering, automation technology, materials and process engineering, and the automotive industry, but also in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, the security and defence industries, and aerospace. This is underpinned by key technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, microelectronics and biotechnology.

Roadmaps and Objectives

Expert groups comprising members of the Research Council have drawn up topic-specific research roadmaps in the areas of business models, engineering, the future of work and sustainability, which are intended to contribute to achieving the described vision. They identify areas of action where there is still a need for research and development and provide a strategic framework for academia, industry and policymakers. The research topics to be addressed over the next five to ten years are defined and divided into three phases. The first step involves laying the foundations and optimising work, organisational, product and production systems. This is followed by the phase of dynamic adaptability, with a focus on data-driven, networked systems. The third step involves dynamic ecosystems that are largely autonomous, adaptable and sustainable.

Objectives of the four thematic roadmaps:

  • Business models: A new data economy enables digital, data-driven and platform-centric service-oriented business models. The aim is to create agile, people-centred companies within dynamic, digital ecosystems.
  • Engineering: Engineering forms the foundation for intelligent, connected and automated production. Existing factory systems are to be optimised and made dynamically adaptable until self-optimising and self-generating systems are achieved.
  • Future of work: Digital transformation is leading to a profound change in work and corporate organisation. Companies must become more flexible, dynamic and adaptable. The aim is to create human-centred, socio-technical work and organisational systems.
  • Sustainability: The industry of the future is environmentally sustainable and networked. This networked value creation forms the basis of the circular economy. Germany is leveraging its industrial strength to act as a pioneer of sustainable value creation and as a leading provider and supplier of factory equipment for the circular economy.

The Research Council’s Mission

The Research Council Industrie 4.0 plays a crucial role in achieving the vision: as a strategic, independent and interdisciplinary forum with its current 33 members, it operates at the interface between science, industry and politics. Comprising experts from various fields and disciplines, it acts as a sensor to identify development trends at an early stage, define research needs and provide impetus for future areas of innovation. By bringing together scientific excellence and industrial innovative strength, it highlights disruptive potential and brings together different perspectives. In doing so, it cooperates closely with other initiatives such as the Plattform Industrie 4.0 and the Plattform Lernende Systeme, thereby acting as a key networking body within the innovation ecosystem.

TU Berlin: FG Industrielle Informationstechnik, Rainer Stark

“With its four thematic roadmaps, the Research Council Industrie 4.0 has clearly outlined the path for research into the future of Industrie 4.0: The interplay of research activities that are temporally and causally intertwined across all four thematic strands, as well as the accelerated implementation of the resulting new insights and capabilities into industrial practice, will be decisive for the future of value creation in Germany over the next decade,” explains Rainer Stark (TU Berlin), Deputy Spokesperson Science on the Research Council.

The strategy paper and roadmaps the four roadmaps covering the topics of ‘business models’, ‘engineering’, ‘the future of work’ and ‘sustainability’ are available to download for free from the Research Council’s website.

Information on the Research Council Industrie 4.0

As a strategic and independent body, the Research Council Industrie 4.0 makes a significant contribution to identifying research-based solutions for the further development and implementation of Industrie 4.0 and thus providing guidance – with the overarching goal of strengthening the German innovation system and value creation. To this end, the Research Council Industrie 4.0 currently brings together 33 representatives from science and industry with their interdisciplinary expertise, formulates new, pre-competitive research impulses and needs, identifies medium to long-term development perspectives and derives options for action for the successful implementation of Industrie 4.0. Research in the field of Industrie 4.0 is increasingly focussing on topics such as sustainability, resilience, interoperability, technological and strategic sovereignty and the central role of people. The work of the Research Council Industrie 4.0 is coordinated by acatech – National Academy of Science and Engineering, supervised by the Project Management Organisation Karlsruhe (PTKA) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).