The future of industry

The world is at the dawn of a new era, characterized by rapid technological advances, demographic changes and global challenges. By the middle of the century, the world’s population is expected to grow to around nine to ten billion people. This growth, combined with the desire for higher living standards and the consumer society phenomenon, will continue to have a major impact on both people and the economy. Society, companies and governments must respond proactively to these changes in order to exploit opportunities and minimize risks. Flexibility, innovation and responsibility will be key components for success in the industrial landscape of 2050.

Material innovations for the present and future

The targeted integration of recycled fibres into composite materials offers the economy of the future considerable potential to lower material costs and reduce environmental impact. Modern recycling processes ensure a consistent quality of the fibres so that core mechanical requirements – for example in terms of strength and stiffness – can be met. The obtained sub-products can also be flexibly adapted using new mixing technologies and open up far-reaching possibilities for resource-efficient construction methods.

In the short term, the main focus is on scaling up and standardizing the currently available recycling processes in order to ensure broad industrial application. In the long term, however, far-reaching effects can be expected: the interaction of improved recycling processes and innovative composite structures will give companies the opportunity to technologically diversify their product range and to implement sustainable business models.

As of 2025-05-05

List of references
[1] Graedel, T. E., & Howard-Grenville, J. A. (2005). The Industries of 2050. In Greening the Industrial Facility (pp. 459–468). Springer-Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26113-3_27