A China-Germany Industry 4.0 promotion alliance, the first of its kind in China, was launched in the West Coast New Area of Qingdao city, Shandong province on Feb 9.

A China-Germany Industry 4.0 promotion alliance, the first of its kind in China, is launched in the West Coast New Area of Qingdao city on Feb 9.[Photo/qingdaonews.com]

The alliance's members include 21 well-known Chinese and German universities, enterprises and institutions, covering R&D, manufacturing and software -- essentials for Industry 4.0, which boast market value totaling hundreds of billions of dollars globally.

Upgrading to an Industry 4.0 environment would help increase production efficiency by 50 percent and lower energy consumption by 50 percent, according to analysis by German Academy of Science and Engineering.

The term "Industry 4.0" was first used in 2011 at the Hanover Fair, representing the future of manufacturing. It refers to the fourth industrial revolution based on cyber-physical systems and featuring digitalization, networks and self-organization, following the first three, which were marked by the use of steam power, the introduction of mass production and the application of electronics and IT, respectively.

The alliance has gathered research institutions including Tongji University, China University of Petroleum, and Shandong University of Science and Technology, and companies like Bosch (China), Siemens (China), Haier and Hisense. They will carry out in-depth and extensive exchange and cooperation on information analysis, program planning, talent cultivation, academic exchange and demonstrative application. They will work together to help raise China and Germany's core competitiveness and are likely to play an important role in promoting Industry 4.0 in China.

The West Coast New Area plans to introduce high-end research institutions and create a public technological innovation service platform and exhibition center to provide technological solutions for building smart factories in an Industry 4.0 environment. It also will offer policy support, set up a special fund to promote Industry 4.0, foster a batch of demonstrative enterprises as well as set up a demonstrative zone, and offer enterprises all-round training in a systematic manner to make them more motivated about and better prepared for upgrading to Industry 4.0.