INCENTIVISE5.0 - Incentivising change and empowering transformative innovative value chains and inclusive substainability in energy intensive industries 5.0

INCENTIVISE5.0 follows a co-development approach involving around 50 companies across ten energy-intensive industrial sectors. The project develops a comprehensive operational framework — Compass 5.0 — to guide companies through the Industry 5.0 transformation process.

A key innovation is the Return-on-X (RoX) evaluation model, which expands traditional performance metrics beyond financial indicators to include human-centric, environmental, and resilience-related value creation.

The project also runs real-world pilot activities and demonstrators, where advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, industrial wearables, and extended reality (XR) are tested in operational industrial environments. These pilots explore how human–machine interaction can be redesigned to improve productivity, safety, and sustainability simultaneously.

In parallel, INCENTIVISE5.0 actively engages stakeholders from industry, social partners, policymakers, and research organisations to co-design transformation pathways and validate tools and frameworks. The outcomes are consolidated into a European-wide roadmap supporting the long-term evolution of energy-intensive industries.

• Nederlandse Organisatie voor Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO) (NL)
• SINTEF AS (SIN) (NO)a
• Eyde Cluster (Norwegian Center of Expertise Sustainable Process Industry) (EYD) (NO)
• TU Dortmund University (Technische Universität Dortmund) (TUDO (D)
• A.SPIRE (A.SPIRE) (BE)
• Workplace Innovation Europe CLG (WIE) (IE)
• Politecnico di Milano (POL) (IT)

INCENTIVISE5.0 develops practical strategies and tools to support energy-intensive industries (EII) in implementing Industry 5.0 principles. At the heart of the project are the people working in these industries, as well as the sustainable and resilient design of production systems and workplaces.

The project's main objectives are to:

• Develop Compass 5.0, a practical framework for implementing and assessing Industry 5.0 initiatives
• Introduce new evaluation approaches (Return-on-X) that consider not only economic performance but also sustainability, resilience, and employee well-being
• Foster workplace innovation and strengthen collaboration between people and technology
• Enhance skills, adaptability, and organisational capacity through training, knowledge transfer, and participatory processes
• Create a cross-sectoral roadmap for the adoption of Industry 5.0 across Europe's energy-intensive industries

The methodology is based on a multi-layered transformation framework combining analysis, experimentation, and co-creation:

• Literature Analysis and Expert Interviews
• Multi-Level Perspective (MLP): Addresses transformation across niche (company), regime (sector), and landscape (macro trends) levels
• Co-creation and participation: Joint development of tools, frameworks, and strategies with industry stakeholders and social partners
• Large-Scale Interventions (LSI): Structured multi-stakeholder processes to test solutions, identify barriers, and co-develop transition roadmaps
• Piloting and demonstrators: Real-world implementation of Industry 5.0 solutions in industrial settings to enable validation and scaling
• Digital learning platforms: Use of “Fresh Thinking Labs” to support continuous learning, collaboration, and knowledge exchange across sectors

Through this integrated approach, INCENTIVISE5.0 enables a systemic transformation of energy-intensive industries towards a more sustainable, resilient, and human-centric future.