Plattform Industrie 4.0 is a network led by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action aimed at securing and expanding Germany’s position in the manufacturing sector. It brings together stakeholders from politics, business, academia, trade unions and associations to facilitate pre-competitive exchange and advance climate adaptation strategies for industrial players. Challenge: Pressures on Germany’s industry underscore the need for digital & environmental transformation Germany’s manufacturing sector, the largest in Europe, contributed 28% of the country’s GDP in 2023 and supports 15 million jobs in Germany. It consists mainly of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in capital-intensive industries such as automotive, chemicals and heavy machinery. Despite being the backbone of Germany’s economy, manufacturing has been repeatedly plunged into crisis in recent years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and escalating climate impacts. In 2020, droughts lowered water levels in the country’s major rivers, disrupting transportation routes, increasing costs and delaying manufacturing production. In 2021, severe floods in North Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland Palatinate halted production at automotive and chemical plants. Meanwhile, the rising frequency of heatwaves has strained the power grid, disrupting energy-intensive industries such as steel and aluminium, while driving up energy costs. Action: Tech-driven, collaborative platform for manufacturing systems resilience To build climate resilience in German manufacturers and reduce emissions, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action launched Plattform Industrie 4.0, the country’s main network for advancing the digital transformation of manufacturing. It brings together over 350 actors from more than 150 organizations, including government, business, science, trade unions and other associations. They share ideas and best practice on climate adaptation and the circular economy. The Manufacturing-X initiative was also launched to build data and tech-driven resilience into Germany’s industrial companies, with three objectives: –Resilience: reorganize value chains in manufacturing, enabling quicker reactions. –Sustainability: design new business models, a circular economy and increase efficiency. –Competitiveness: develop innovations that ensure German companies’ global leadership. To achieve these objectives, the initiative has taken three major steps: –Data space: Manufacturing-X has created a shared, secure platform that contains data on flagship projects and use cases, allowing German manufacturers to exchange data in real time. This helps, for instance, the early detection of extreme weather events and triggers efforts to reduce their impact before they arrive. –Knowledge transfer: small and medium-sized enterprises will be integrated into the data space with the help of supporting transformation hubs, supporting them in adopting adaptation strategies. –Community building: Manufacturing-X is internationalizing its broad-based community by implementing global standards for a comprehensive data economy. Results Manufacturing-X promotes standards such as the Asset Administration Shell standard (AAS), a digital representation of an asset (component, machine or plant), which ensures the interoperability of components in its systems. It also developed a digital governance system with Gaia-X, applicable to any cloud or edge technology, to ensure transparency, controllability, portability and interoperability across data and services. With Catena-X, one of the world’s first open data spaces for the automotive industry, it boosts business processes using data-driven value chains. Thus, Manufacturing-X serves as a hub, facilitating cross-domain dialogue and tackling technical, legal and administrative challenges. Manufacturing-X is improving the resilience, stability and sustainability of Germany’s industrial supply chains in the face of climate change. In the future, it will expand to more industries and scale-up technologies such as blockchain to enhance traceability and cybersecurity in supply chains. Manufacturing-X showcases the enormous potential of collaborative, technology-driven ecosystems to drive climate adaptation. CASE STUDY 3 Scaling-up adaptation tech platform for manufacturing systems Sources: Manufacturing-X; Plattform Industrie 4.0.59 Climate Adaptation: Unlocking Value Chains with the Power of Technology 27

Climate Adaptation Unlocking Value Chains with the Power of Technology 2025