"We need to incorporate industry requirements into 5G standardization now," said Roland Bent, board member of the ZVEI Automation Association and one of the managing directors of Phoenix Contact, at SPS IPC Drives 2017. The technology is not only the standard for the fifth generation of mobile communications, but is also accelerating development towards Industry 4.0. "5G technology will make it possible to introduce completely new system approaches and solutions in factories. That's why the industry needs to get to grips with this topic today," continues Bent. The ZVEI established the '5G Task Force' for this purpose at the beginning of 2017, which is currently being expanded into the '5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation' (5G-ACIA). With 5G-ACIA, the association aims to incorporate the interests of both the manufacturing and process industries into the standardization process in order to make 5G industry-ready.

"The ZVEI is also one of the key players in Industry 4.0 in Germany in 2017," added Gunther Koschnick, Managing Director of the ZVEI Automation Association. "For Industry 4.0 to work, we need an infrastructure suitable for industrial applications."

In this context, the ZVEI is also driving forward the joint research project "DC Industry". "Smart grids need smart consumers," said Karl-Peter Simon, Chairman of the ZVEI's Electrical Drives division and Managing Director of Bauer Gear Motor. This could be a factory that is supplied by a smart DC grid. "A factory like this knows its energy requirements in a wide variety of situations. It can decide which consumption peaks it can absorb using its own storage systems and how much energy it feeds into the smart grid itself."

Bent was very pleased with the economic situation in the German automation sector: "The innovations surrounding Industry 4.0 are fueling growth in the sector," he said. "With Industry 4.0, we have created a brand that is now understood all over the world. Now we are filling the brand bit by bit with further services." In the first few months of the current year, the German automation industry generated sales of EUR 39.9 billion, which corresponds to growth of 7.2%. According to Bent, 2018 will also be a good year for the industry, with growth rates in the upper single-digit range.