Next Industrial Revolution, The: A New Age For Innovation In Industry

Book excerpt: In The Next Industrial Revolution, Vincent Petit builds on his earlier work, The Age of Fire Is Over (2021), where he explored how key transformations in consumption patterns impact our energy system in ways that have been seldom envisioned. He further develops this work here, and traces how these transformations apply to our modern industrial system, the bedrock of our global economic development and wealth creation.Petit argues that the world is on the cusp of the next centennial transformation of our industrial system, driven by major technological enhancements, considerable opportunities for productivity step changes, but also significant resiliency and environmental challenges.Through a deep and unique exploration of the innovation landscape and global context in each major sector of industry, the author sheds light on the key changes that will transform not only every sector of activity, but also the way they interact with one another to produce nothing short of a complete redesign of our industrial system.The way such transformation will unfold will, however, depend on the complex entanglement of technological progress, policy, business transformations and cultural evolutions. Through different scenarios, the author highlights some of the key decisions that need to be made today, in order to make the most of this opportunity.