The third industrial revolution is a term used to describe the large scale economic transformations brought on by the digital and new energy advancements. The theory was originally developed by Jeremy Rifkin and endorsed by the European Parliament in a formal declaration passed in June 2007. Specifically, the combination of digital communication technology and renewable energies in the 21st century is giving rise to the third industrial revolution.

The first industrial revolution began in Britain in the late 18th century, with the mechanization of the textile industry. Tasks previously performed laboriously by hand in hundreds of weavers’ cottages were brought together in a single textile mill, and the factory was born. The second industrial revolution came in the early 20th century, when Henry Ford mastered the moving assembly line and ushered in the age of mass production.

With the third revolution, industrial manufacturing is going digital with renewable energy.