How Leading Global Chemical Companies Contribute to Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 is a newest paradigm that covers a wide range of issues in digital transformations, development of cyber-physical systems (CPS) and their industrial application. This paper highlights the specifics of chemical companies' innovative activity and significant contribution of chemical manufacturing to the Industry 4.0 processes. Studying the Chemicals 4.0 concept, we emphasize two dimensions of smart transformations: external, that is linked with needs from related industries for new smart materials and technological solutions for digital innovations, and internal, that is associated with smart modernization of the chemical industry value chain. We analyze data on the business and R&D activities of the leading diversified chemical companies and focus on their successful innovative cases. We conclude that cross-sectoral partnership and innovative ecosystems development is a key factor for accelerated development based on Industry 4.0 technologies. Another important conclusion is that sustainable development challenges constitute the starting point of most innovations in chemical manufacturing.