Exploring applications of blockchain technology for Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution refers to the development of the functioning of modern factories to achieve better performance, end to end connectivity, lower cost and higher quality. It aims at achieving interconnectivity and automation using technologies of the Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics or Robotics. However, better connectivity and improved automation come with their challenges. Trust and reliability, enhancing transparency, product traceability, developing an efficient supply chain, storing and sharing the transactional data securely and certification for quality compliance are among them. Due to its property of decentralization, immutability, authenticity and transparency, blockchain technology has been in discussion for various industrial applications. This paper explores how blockchain technology is applicable in various Industry 4.0 applications and how it can effectively tackle the issues faced by them. Firstly, the fundamentals of Industry 4.0 are discussed. Then, the illustration of how blockchain works and why and how it can contribute in Industry 4.0 is given. The paper later mentions the challenges of Industry 4.0 and Blockchain technology-based solutions to solve them. Finally, the challenges of using blockchain technology for the growth of Industry 4.0 are also discussed. Copyright (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Materials-AM2 2021.