Ukrainian industry is entering a new stage of transformation. Digitalization, automation and green transition remain important, but the war has radically changed the context. Today it is not just about productivity and manufacturability. Enterprises must operate in unstable energy supply, staff shortages, cyberattacks, disrupted supply chains and constant security risks.

Under such conditions, the main problem is not the lack of technology. The Ukrainian market already has mature solutions in industrial automation, robotics, asset management, energy management, industrial artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The key question is different: do we have enough people, investments, institutional mechanisms and readiness of enterprises to apply these decisions to the right scale?

From the end of 2025, APPAU has been developing a broader framework of industrial development until 2030, where the concept of sustainability, or resilience, is central. The first result of several foresight sessions was the concept UA Automation Resilience Stack, published in February 2026. During the year, APPAU, together with the clusters of the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance and EDIH Kyiv Hitech, expanded and filled this framework with specific initiatives.

In this article, we identify six system challenges around which we offer industry ecosystem partners 4.0–5.0 to concentrate efforts and form cooperation programs for 2027–2030.

Personnel shortage and reduction of engineering capacity

This is the biggest challenge for the industrial automation market. Mobilization, migration, demographic crisis, aging of engineering personnel and insufficient influx of young people are already reducing the capabilities of integrators and engineering companies. At the same time, the demand for automation is growing, as companies also lose staff and have to compensate for their deficit with technology.

There is a double gap: customers need more automation, but companies that need to implement it also lack people. Therefore, a simple increase in the number of training courses is not enough. It is necessary to change the whole model of training and the provision of engineering services.

Among the priority answers:

• national retraining and advanced training programs;
• short training programs for specific roles: power automation engineer, OT-cybersecurity engineer, ASC project manager, commissioning engineer;
• propagation of remote commissioning and virtual FAT / SAT;
• networks of distributed engineering teams capable of working as a single virtual integrator;
• Models ‘Engineering as a Service’;
• joint assets of EDH networks and regional hubs: expert pools, libraries of typical business and UZ-cases, training modules;
• Systematic promotion of engineering professions among young people.

In the APPAU portfolio, this group of challenges corresponds to the unification of methods for assessing digital maturity and client routes within EDIH Kyiv Hitech, as well as promising projects of the National Platform for Retraining and Advanced Training in the Industry 4.0–5.0 and ‘Talents for Industry 5.0’.

The main points of cooperation:

• formation of integral retraining programs for industrial enterprises, their standardization and adaptation to current market needs;
• pooling the resources of the Ukrainian EDH network for the exchange of practices, joint educational products and support of critical industries;
• stable models of interaction between universities, business and the state: ZVO update programs, technology companies create applied modules, companies determine the necessary roles and accept trainees, the state and donors co-finance training;
• Joint advocacy of critical engineering personnel booking mechanisms in engineering companies and system integrators.

Personnel should be given the highest priority. Without it, most industrial transformation programs simply will not have performers.

Low technology penetration and lack of maturity of customers

The Ukrainian market has sufficient quality solutions, but the level of their penetration into industry remains low. A significant part of enterprises postpones systemic digital transformation, implements isolated solutions or starts projects without proper assessment of digital maturity and economic effect. Vendors, integrators and the new EDIH network also note the lack of readiness of many SMEs to implement modern technologies.

Thus, there is a lack of supply, but of prepared demand, trust in innovation, quality diagnostics, industry guidelines and available mechanisms for the first implementation.

In response, you need:

• independent digital maturity audits;
• industry road maps of digital and green crossing;
• demonstration of economic effect on real cases;
• catalogs of proven integrators and service providers;
• vouchers and co-financing of the first pilots;
• exchange of best practices between enterprises;
• dissemination of solutions with a short and clear payback period.

This direction begins to systematically develop the EDH network. APPAU supports it through the creation of industry road maps, the first of which was Light Industry Digital Transformation Roadmapthe and through 4.0 Industry Technologies. However, the scale of these efforts still does not meet the needs of the country. In terms of investment in the preparation of industrial enterprises in Industry 4.0, Ukraine lagged behind the EU and before the war, and today this gap has increased.

The main points of cooperation:

• development and scaling of road maps for industries, technological segments and regions;
• involvement of clusters, EDIH and other regional innovation hubs in joint regional and sectoral programs;
• popularization of best practices through demonstrators, visits to businesses, catalogs of cases and joint information campaigns;
• Transferring the results of European projects to permanent programs so that the practices do not end with the grant.

One of the necessary formats is Digital Factory Ukraine within the annual industrial forum. Experience Idealist project It also shows that Ukraine needs a much better mechanism for disseminating and scaling practices obtained in international projects.

Sustainability of energy and critical infrastructure

War, strikes on energy infrastructure, cyberattacks and logistics violations are changing the requirements for industrial automation. It is no longer enough for enterprises to optimize productivity in stable conditions. Systems should support work during blackouts, loss of communication, infrastructure damage, staff shortages and cyberattacks.

This is what the concept is aimed at UA Automation Resilience Stack. It combines five segments:

1. Energy stability and automation.
2. Automation of defense production and dual-use technologies.
3. digitalization of supply chains and integration into European value chains.
4. growth of engineering capacity, in particular remote implementation.
5. Industrial artificial intelligence for sustainability tasks.

Among the most mature solutions: industrial energy management systems, MicroGrids automation, ASKUE / ASTUE with analytics, digital power systems, predictive service, EDGE-solving solutions for battery life and OT-cybersecurity.

These solutions need to be translated into demonstrator format:

• Resilient Factory – an enterprise capable of supporting critical operations during energy and cyber violations;
• Resilient Energy Node – industrial or infrastructure power unit with local generation, accumulation, industrial EMS and secure control;
• Resilient Critical Infrastructure – solutions for energy, water, heat, communications and other critical services;
• Industrial AI for Resilience – Predictive Maintenance, Anomaly Detection, Energy Optimization and AI-Assisted Planning.

The main points of cooperation:

• systematic analysis of practices, thanks to which companies have been supporting work in conditions of war, energy and logistical violations for the fifth year;
• development of a holistic policy of industrial stability and its integration into programs such as ‘Made in Ukraine’;
• creation of regional Living Labs, where universities, developers, integrators and enterprises jointly test and improve solutions;
• International support for the systematization, validation and promotion of proven Ukrainian practices.

It is in this area that the Ukrainian experience can become a valuable offer for Europe. Ukraine is able not only to import sustainability technologies, but also to jointly develop and review solutions for European industry.

Weakness of innovation and technological infrastructure

It is difficult for Ukrainian SMEs to gain access to independent diagnostics, prototyping, testbeds, laboratories, experts and funding for experiments. Some equipment and competencies already exist in universities and research institutions, but they are not open enough for business and are not integrated into a clear service network.

Therefore, the priority should be not only the creation of new centers, but also the organization of access to available resources. are required:

• EDIH and regional innovative hubs as service navigators for industrial SMEs;
• open to business university prototyping centers;
• Applied TestBeds and polygons for robotics, autonomous systems, additive technologies, composite materials, industrial AI and digital engineering;
• Ukrainian-European corridors of prototyping and tests for access to the missing infrastructure in Ukraine;
• A network of independent digital maturity experts.

A separate task is to scale production in new sectors, primarily in Miltech and related dual-purpose areas. In the traditional industry, the technology of serial production, automation and quality control has long been known. But new manufacturers of UAVs, NRCs, sensors and special electronics have often grown from small engineering teams. Now they need to quickly master the culture of production engineering, MES, APS, PLM, traceability and digital quality control.

This is not a general rupture of Ukrainian industry, but a specific problem of new fast-growing sectors. They need accelerated transfer of experience from mature manufacturing companies and integrators.

The main points of cooperation:

• association of existing centers in the network of hubs and clusters;
• development of service models of prototyping centers and exchange of best practices;
• integration of university infrastructure with real business requests;
• construction of corridors with European hubs, RTO and Testbeds;
• Targeted programs that finance coordination, access to SMEs and first pilots.

Cluster and EDIH networks can be the basis of this system, but without targeted programs, the current infrastructure will remain fragmented.

Integration into European industrial and digital ecosystems

Ukrainian companies will not be able to fully integrate into the EU market only through exhibitions, business missions and matchmaking. Technological and organizational readiness to work in common value chains is required.

This implies:

• through traceability;
• ERP-MES-WMS integration;
• digital product passports;
• ESG and Carbon Data automation;
• compliance with cybersecurity standards and requirements;
• protected exchange of industrial data;
• Compatibility with Manufacturing-X, Gaia-X and European Data Spaces;
• readiness to qualification of the supplier and joint production.

The APPAU portfolio has already formed the project ideas of Industrial Data Space Ukraine, Circular Manufacturing Accelerator, Green and Circular Hub Ukraine and ESG Reporting Platform. However, most of them still need partners and funding. Business missions to EU countries, EEN-Ukraine, Hannover Messe and other specialized exhibitions and conferences remain the current access channels.

The main points of cooperation:

• formation of European consortia and joint ventures around specific production cases;
• use of clusters, chambers of commerce and industry to find partners and develop common value chains;
• support for EDIH and local integrators in implementing the technologies needed to work in the EU market;
• Targeted programs Soft Landing, Supplier Development, certification and co-production preparation.

It is necessary to move from general ‘internationalization’ to the measured results: joint development, production partnerships, participation in consortia and the entry of Ukrainian companies into the chains of value of the EU.

Lack of holistic industry policy 4.0–5.0 and poor coordination

Ukraine still does not have a relevant national strategy for the development of industry 4.0-5.0 and Advanced Manufacturing. The issue remains open from 2018, when APPAU developed the first strategy of industry 4.0 at the request of the Cabinet of Ministers. Separate initiatives exist in various ministries, donor programs, universities, clusters and business associations, but do not form a common agenda.

As a result:

• Personnel programs are not always related to market needs;
• University laboratories are developing separately from industrial cases;
• Digital and green transitions are often considered in parallel;
• SME support programs do not have sufficient technological specialization;
• Successful pilots rarely turn into system tools and do not scale;
• The state, donors and businesses finance individual fragments, not cross-cutting routes.

The answer should be the National Industry Strategy 5.0, industry road maps, targeted priority segment development programs, the organization responsible for coordinating these programs, and practical support tools in cooperation with clusters and EDIH. The first step was taken in 2023 APPAU and UCA Community Resolutions, but further specific decisions, resources and responsible executors are needed.

The main points of cooperation:

• joint advocacy of programs that strengthen the innovation and technological components of general industrial policies, in particular ‘Made in Ukraine’;
• constant dialogue with central authorities on targeted industry development programs 4.0-5.0;
• coordination between business associations, clusters, EDHs, universities and other innovation networks;
• coordination of donor programs with certain national and industry priorities.

How to combine six directions into a joint program of action

These challenges cannot be addressed separately. Resilient Factory needs trained engineers, a mature customer, access to experts, cybersecurity and pilot funding. The prototyping center will not work without a real industrial task, a qualified team, a test route and a partner ready to scale the solution. The retraining program will not work without the clear demand of employers, internships and involvement of students in practical projects. Industrial Data Space will not be of value without the willingness of companies to exchange data, common standards and clear business cases.

Therefore, the basic model of cooperation should be the connection:

Industrial enterprise + technology company or integrator + university or RTO + EDIH + cluster + donor or investor.

Each participant brings what others are missing:

• enterprise – task, platform and co-investment;
• integrator – typical architecture and responsibility for implementation;
• University – personnel, research and laboratory base;
• EDIH – access to services, experts and testbeds;
• cluster – aggregation of participants, coordination and international relations;
• state or donor – financing of the risky first phase;
• European partner – standards, technologies and market access.

This model is already partially deployed by Edih Kyiv Hitech in the Living Lab program.

APPAU proposes to make a joint discussion of six priority decisions:

1. National program for the development of engineering personnel and new models of remote and service implementation.
2. Scaling best EDH practices and available digital transformation services for industrial SMEs.
3. Launch of the first demonstrators of UA Automation Resilience Stack.
4. creation of a network of university prototyping centers and Ukrainian-European testing corridors.
5. Programs of integration of Ukrainian enterprises into digital and industrial ecosystems of the EU.
6. Development of a modern state strategy of the industry 5.0 and Advanced Manufacturing.

These areas already have a basis in the form of projects, working groups, international partnerships and expertise of Ukrainian companies. The next step is to identify a limited number of priorities, unite resources around them and move on to joint implementation.

Invitation to cooperation

APPAU invites government officials, industrial enterprises, technology companies, universities, EDIH, clusters, donor organizations and European partners to join the formation of a joint portfolio of actions for 2027-2030.

The Ukrainian market does not lack quality technological solutions. He lacks people, scale, coordination and constant mechanisms of cooperation.

It is around overcoming these restrictions that a new agenda of the Ukrainian industry should be formed 4.0–5.0.

Send cooperation proposals to info@appau.org.ua.