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Trends2 May 202610 min

Industry 5.0 vs Industry 4.0 in Food Packaging: Differences and Italian Incentives

Industry 5.0 adds sustainability, human-centricity and resilience to the automation focus of Industry 4.0. In Italy, the Transizione 5.0 plan (DL 19/2024) makes energy savings a mandatory criterion for tax credits on new packaging machinery — a key shift from the previous 4.0 framework.

Overview

Industry 4.0 focused on automation and connectivity. Industry 5.0 (EU Commission 2021) adds three pillars: human-centricity, environmental sustainability, and systemic resilience. Italy's Transition 5.0 tax credit translates this into a concrete requirement: packaging machines must generate a measurable ≥3% energy saving vs. prior-year baseline to qualify for the 35–45% tax credit.

  • 4.0 requirement: digital interconnection with company ERP/MES
  • 5.0 requirement: interconnection + certified ≥3% process energy saving
  • New generation thermoformers and tray sealers typically deliver 20–35% energy reduction vs. 10-year-old machines
  • Italy-specific incentive: Credito d'Imposta Transizione 5.0 (DL 19/2024)

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