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Current Research Projects

Logo CircoMod

CircoMod

Circular Economy Modelling for Climate Change Mitigation

 

Decarbonizing the production and consumption of products and materials play a critical role in reaching ambitious climate targets. As a result, a new circular economic system that aims to reduce primary material use (in addition to energy efficiency and fuel shifts) can address both Greenhous Gas emissions (GHG)s and increase resource efficiency. However, current GHG mitigation models and scenarios that inform climate policymakers do not generally include circular economy (CE) options. They also do not cover the possible synergies of the CE with other societal goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), nor the challenges involved in rearranging value chains and consumer behaviour.

CIRCOMOD addresses these challenges by developing a new generation of advanced models and scenarios that will assess how CE can reduce future GHGs and material use. The project brings together a unique consortium of leading research teams from different disciplines, including industrial ecology and material flow modelling, process-oriented integrated assessment modelling, and macro-economic modelling. It aims for a breakthrough in integrating CE and GHG mitigation assessments by developing an analytical framework that maps circular economy strategies to existing influential climate scenarios; by providing robust and timely CE data in an open repository; and, by improving the representation of the CE in leading models used by European and global institutions, while strengthening links between the models.

These key scientific breakthroughs enable robust scientific assessments in collaboration with stakeholders across policy and industry. It will provide timely input to international assessments such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Resource Panel (IRP). CIRCOMOD will provide actionable insights into the circular economy and help address one of the largest challenges of the coming decades.

Project managers

Prof. Dr. Tobias Viere

Dr. Christian Haubach

Project staff

Alejandro Arias Castillo

Marina Haug

Project partners

Universiteit Utrecht (UU), Coordination

Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet, Trondheim (NTNU)

Universiteit Leiden (CML)

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneosui Cambiamenti Climatici, Lecce (CMCC)

E3-Modelling AE, Athens (E3M)

Stichting Katholieke Universiteit Brabant, Tilburg (TiU)

Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Systemiq Deutschland GmbH, Munich

Power Algae OU, Tartu

Ministerie van Infrastructuut en Waterstaat, Den Haag (PBL)

Projekt website

Project duration

06/2022 - 05/2026

Public funding

Logo Funded by European Union

The project has received funding from the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme by the European Commission.

Grant no.

Grant agreement No 101056868

DACE Grafik Logo

DACE

Data Competence Center for Circular Economy

 

The circular economy depends to a large extent on information about the manufacture, production and use of products, their materials and their components. However, due to the complexity of many products and the underlying production processes, the collection, consolidation and evaluation of this data - the circular economy (CE data) - is extremely difficult and requires a great deal of knowledge and analysis. The underlying CE data must inevitably be collected by different institutions due to the wide variety of processes and actors involved, whereby a large amount of necessary CE data is not yet collected today. There are various reasons for this. Firstly, because they are not yet recordable or measurable. Secondly, because it is not yet known that this data is needed at all in the context of CE. This also means that many areas of CE cannot or can hardly be mapped reliably in terms of data and information technology at present. The actual progress of CE development, e.g. through the impact of policy measures, can therefore only be tracked to a limited extent or not at all. Therefore, CE data requires both the development of expertise and further research in order for it to be useful. To this end, the ability to collect, analyze and derive measures from CE data must be developed, expanded and strengthened among various target groups, but especially in the scientific community. This is precisely where the Data Competence Center for Circular Economy Data (DACE) comes in.

The DACE - Data Competence Center for Circular Economy (CE) Data

  • researches the skills required to collect, analyze and use CE data,
  • enables the handling of CE data,
  • and networks the players in data-driven CE.

The aim is to enable research into and implementation of the energy- and resource-efficient circular economy. At the same time, the basis for better measurement and evaluation of CE and CE strategies (10R) is to be created through the systematic handling (skills) of CE data in science, research, teaching and application. DACE will thus close an important gap in the research and learning landscape for sustainable management.

Central competencies must be imparted in particular in the identification and recognition of the need for required and relevant CE data, its collection and recording, its provision across different stakeholders, the consolidation and consolidation of the data and its holistic analysis. DACE relies on three main pillars in order to teach the required skills:

  1. the DACE Academy to teach the skills,
  2. the DACE Space to research the skills and
  3. the DACE Hub to disseminate the skills.

The project is organized into work packages. Work package (WP) 1 deals with the coordination of the Data Competence Center. In WP 2, the DACE Academy is conceptualized, set up, implemented and evaluated. The INEC has a major contribution here in the transfer of knowledge and skills. In particular, appropriate formats will be developed, for which a target group analysis will first be carried out. Stakeholder surveys are also carried out to analyze the target group in order to design formats and curricula. The entire knowledge transfer process will be scientifically monitored. WP 3, the DACE Space, is another focus of INEC's work in the DACE project. INEC has extensive project experience in the use and conceptual creation of data for the circular economy. INEC complements the DACE research with activities on the importance of data in resource efficiency, in data literacy for CE and on issues of standardization and standardization for CE data and its handling. This relates in particular to work on data collection, provision and analysis. As part of this work package, concepts for indicators, databases and data management will also be developed together with the partners. Proposals will be developed and discussed before they are tested in practice in order to ultimately implement data-driven CE measures. Finally, as part of WP 4, the DACE Hub will be set up as a networking platform to bring together the relevant players in a data-driven circular economy.

 

Project manager

 

Prof. Dr. Mario Schmidt

Prof. Dr. Tobias Viere

Project partners

 

Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie gGmbH (Coordinator)

University of Wuppertal (BUW), Institute for Technologies and Management for Digital Transformation

German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Department Innovative Factory Systems

RWTH Aachen University, Chair of Anthropogenic Material Cycles and Center for Circular Economy

Project duration

 

11/2023 - 11/2026

Funding institution

 

Logo BMBF

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is supported by the project management organisation VDI/VDE-IT.

 

Grant No.

 

16DKZ2056C

DfC Industry

Design for Circularity in industrial product development

The development of circular and resource-efficient products is an important instrument for contributing towards sustainable development. This requires product development and design processes to automatically evaluate circular economy measures such as lifetime extension, reuse, remanufacturing or high-quality recycling with regard to economic efficiency, sustainability and resource efficiency.

DfC-Industry aims at developing and testing digital solutions for the design of circular, energy- and resource-efficient products. This includes the environmental assessment of material and energy flows in early design stages as well as the economic feasibility and business models of potential solutions. The analysis of current product development processes helps to derive rules and frameworks for a design for circularity. Furthermore, artificial intelligence and further IT-based approaches are explored to enable and automate the application of these solutions and thereby operationalize a Design for Circularity (DfC) in industrial settings.

The project is coordinated by Pforzheim University’s Institute for Industrial Ecology. The design and product development processes of the project partner Robert Bosch GmbH serve as test cases, while the two further partners, ifu Hamburg GmbH and the Smart Enterprise Engineering unit at Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz GmbH (DFKI-SEE), contribute their specific IT knowledge and expertise.

Project managers

Prof. Dr. Tobias Viere

Prof. Dr. Jörg Woidasky

Project staff

Anina Kusch

Annika Pruhs

Dr. Juliano Bezerra de Araújo

Project partner

 

 

Robert Bosch GmbH (BOSCH)

 

 

 

iPoint-systems gmbh und ihr Tochterunternehmen ifu Hamburg (IFU)

 

 

 

Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz GmbH , Smart Enterprise Engineering (DFKI-SEE)

Project duration

02/2022 - 01/2024

Public funding

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action as part of the funding program „Ressourceneffizienz im Kontext der Energiewende“ (resource efficiency in the energy transition context), which is administered and coordinated by Project Management Jülich (PtJ).

https://www.energiesystem-forschung.de/forschen/ressourceneffizienz

Grant no.

FKZ 03EI5005A

greenProd

Energy optimized production with green digital twins

 

Large parts of the manufacturing industry are facing major challenges in view of the energy transition. The increased use of regenerative energy as well as the efficient use of available energy are associated with high investments.

The aim of the greenProd research project is to optimize the transformation of the manufacturing industry with regard to the use of regenerative energy sources and at the same time to increase its competitiveness.

In order to achieve this, it is first necessary to determine the energy requirements of the individual production steps. Energy efficiency potential can then be identified and concepts for the optimized use of renewable energy can be developed. This is to be done with the help of green digital energy twins (gDEZ). These are digital proxies that describe the energy consumption of production steps and can also be supplemented with emission data. The gDEZs thus enable the CO2 emissions to be allocated to the production steps and the individual products.

With the aid of the digital image of a production system, interdependencies between machines and systems can be represented and entire production chains can be simulated. By specifically shifting energy-intensive work steps to times when sufficient regenerative energy is available, production can be optimized in terms of costs and environmental impact.

In summary, the scientific and technical challenges of the project are:

  • Description of the energy consumption of individual production steps by means of gDEZ
  • Simplified creation of the gDEZ and the configuration of processes
  • Development of an algorithm for energy-optimized production planning
  • Integration into existing processes and plants
  • Visualization of the advantages in business figures

 

gDEZ Figure: Illustration of a gDEZ with possible interfaces (Source: Icons from icons8.com)

Project manager

 

Prof. Dr. Thomas Greiner (IoS3)

Prof. Dr. Rainer Drath (IoS3)

Prof. Dr. Ingela Tietze (INEC)

Research staff

 

Felix Bischoff M.Sc.

 

Project partners

 

Krumedia GmbH, Karlsruhe (Coordination, Project coordinator: Dr. Michael Krutwig)
Fraunhofer IESE, Kaiserslautern
logi.cals GmbH, St. Pölten (Österreich)
XOOO Mechatronics GmbH, Attnang-Puchheim (Österreich)
VinRoc Solutions GmbH, Heidelberg
Eckerle Technologies GmbH, Malsch

 

Project duration

 

05/2023 - 04/2026

Funding institution

 

The research project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) as part of the "Development of Digital Technologies" funding program and is supported by the German-Aerospace-Center (DLR).

 

Grant No.

 

01MN23003B

InPEQt

Integrated cost- and life-cycle-based planning of decentralized energy systems for energy and resource efficient neighborhood development

In renewable energy systems, the environmental impacts shift from the use phase to the production phase on the one hand, and also to other impact categories on the other. Therefore, a fundamental extension of the methodology for energy system planning is required. The coupling of classical energy system modeling with life cycle assessment offers the opportunity to do so.
The main objective of this project is to develop and test a planning model for decentralized energy systems at the neighborhood level, which enables a comprehensive environmental impact assessment and integration with technical and economic aspects. The planning model to be developed supports the transformation to climate-neutral energy supply systems for neighborhoods while minimizing other environmental impacts. Conflicts between environmental impacts and costs as well as between the environmental impacts themselves are resolved or minimized. The results of the model are expansion and deployment paths for energy supply technologies over time with balanced and overall reduced environmental impacts in the individual impact categories. The results obtained are to serve as a basis for setting the course in neighborhoods by deriving concrete specifications, e.g. for development plans, for new neighborhoods. In existing neighborhoods, the results will be used in particular to identify and define suitable incentives to support the environmentally friendly transformation of energy systems. To ensure the practicality of the planning methodology, the developed model will be applied to three different practical cases and successively adapted. In Gerstetten, Constance and Wiernsheim, a total of two new-build and one existing neighborhood will be studied to consider and test the different requirements.

Project Manager

 

Prof. Dr. Ingela Tietze

 

Prof. Dr. Tobias Viere (Representative)

Project Staff

 

Project Partners

 

  • Municipal administration Gerstetten
  • Municipal administration Wiernsheim
  • Netze BW GmbH
  • Netzgesellschaft Ostwürttemberg DonauRies GmbH
  • City of Constance
  • Stadtwerke Fellbach GmbH

Project Duration

 

2021 - 2024

 

Public Funding

 

German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU)

 

Grant No.

 

35603/01

 

Energy system model

IRMa

Integrative resource efficiency management for small and medium-sized enterprises in the chemical industry

 

In the research project "IRMa", case study-based research is to be carried out on how an Integrated Resource Efficiency Management (IRMa) can be designed and implemented for small and medium-sized enterprises in the chemical industry. The results will be processed in a transfer-oriented manner and generalised with the help of a project advisory board and carried into the breadth of the industry. The aim of the project is to ensure the systematic development of the circular economy potential in SMEs in the process industry and the associated energy efficiency potential with a consistent methodological approach for SMEs in the chemical industry, to validate it as a model and to process it in a transfer-oriented manner. In the IRMa project, decarbonisation and circular economy strategies as well as the associated measures are thus developed in order to achieve international and national climate protection and sustainability goals for SMEs in the chemical industry.

The procedure for achieving these goals includes...

  • the analysis and evaluation of the company and its internal processes and products with regard to the challenges posed by the circular economy, energy transition and environmental and climate protection,
  • deriving and evaluating internal and external options for action and improvement measures for closing the loop, as well as validating and evaluating selected technologies for closing the loop and energy efficiency, and
  • the structuring of interfaces for inter-company networking and implementation of circular and energy management approaches as well as the validation of their effectiveness.

 

Project manager

 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ingela Tietze

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Claus Lang-Koetz

Research staff

 

Dr.-Ing. Philipp Preiss

Maximilian Auer

Jannick Schmidt

Alexandra Vogt

Project partners

 

Buzil-Werk Wagner GmbH & Co. KG, Memmingen

Krumedia GmbH, Karlsruhe

Münzing Chemie GmbH, Abstatt

 

Project duration

01/2022 - 12/2024

Funding Institution

 

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) as part of the Resource Efficiency in the Context of the Energy Transition funding programme and is supported by the project management organisation Jülich.

 

Grant No.

 

03EI5004A

 

KliReGeM

KliReGeM – Climate-resilient building management

The predicted increase in extreme weather events due to climate change, including long periods of summer heat, create special challenges for building management and urban planning in many cities and municipalities. To minimize the impacts of climate change, there is a portfolio of diverse climate adaptation measures in the urban environment.

In the project "Climate-Resilient Building Management" (KliReGeM), action guidelines for climate-adapted and resource-saving building management are being developed based on the life cycle assessment of concrete climate adaptation measures in the context of typical urban construction tasks in the field of non-residential buildings (new construction, renovation, repair).

The aim of the project is to develop best practice examples for climate-sensitive construction and building management that can serve as models for other cities and municipalities and, beyond that, for commercial non-residential buildings such as offices.

The project has the following sub-objectives:

  1. development of a system of climate adaptation scenarios
  2. comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts for the different scenarios
  3. development of action guidelines for climate-resilient construction

For this purpose, the Institute for Industrial Ecology of the Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences and the Department of Structural Engineering and Building Management of the City of Karlsruhe are working together in close exchange with the involvement of other stakeholders.

Project manager

 

Prof. Dr. Hendrik Lambrecht

Research staff

 

Marco Pufal M.Eng.

 

Project partner

 

Department for Construction and Housing, City of Karlsruhe

 

Project duration

10/2022 - 09/2025

Funding institution

 

We would like to thank the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety for the funding and the project executing agency ZUG for suppurting this project.

 

Grant No.

 

67DAS254

 

Kreislauf E-Wende

Closed-loop energy transition: Balancing the reduction of greenhouse gases through future material cycles in the life cycle of energy technology systems and components

 

The energy transition is associated with increased material requirements. It is therefore essential to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with materials and to reduce possible supply risks from critical raw materials. Measures of the circular economy are expected to make a significant contribution to this.

The methodology of life cycle assessment is widely used to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions. However, the consideration of material cycles is a major weakness in the available accounting tools. On the one hand, this is due to the uncertainties about the possibilities of the Circular Economy that will come into play in the future and the need to include the temporal dynamics of the future energy transition itself in the accounting. On the other hand, fundamental methodological and data-related problems of life cycle assessment come into play when accounting for material cycles, for example the allocation of greenhouse gas savings from recycling.

In this context, both companies and energy and resource policy are currently facing the following challenges:

  • The measures triggered by the EU Green Deal demand more detailed reporting on greenhouse gas emissions from industry, taking materials into account; the Taxonomy Regulation will also lead to a need for action on the part of companies.
  • The rapid transformation of the energy system also relies on the replacement of older, less efficient plants. This requires break-even point calculations for the renewal or replacement of plants.

In principle, the results of today's balancing of an energy technology can have a significant influence on its marketability and dissemination for the future. Therefore, the anticipation of future developments in the sense of an ex-ante consideration is essential for a reliable decision support.
Based on these challenges, the consortium of science and industry will work on the following research topics:

  • Methodological issues of life cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions of materials in future material cycles
  • Analysis of the implementation of components and plants in the energy system against the background of the transformation to renewable energies
  • Development of scenarios of future recycling technologies and analysis of the resulting substitution potentials

The overall project goal is thus to develop methods and data sets for the greenhouse gas balancing of energy technology plants and components that take into account the future effects of Circular Economy measures.

 

Project manager

 

Prof. Dr. Mario Schmidt

Research staff

 

Pia Heidak

Marlon Patt

 

Project partners

 

TU Darmstadt, Institut IWAR, FG Stoffstrommanagement und Ressourcenwirtschaft (Coordinator)

 

 

Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft e.V.

 

 

 

Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG

Funding institution

 

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) as part of the Resource Efficiency in the Context of the Energy Transition funding programme and is supported by the project management organisation Jülich.

 

Grant No.

 

03EI5002C

PFAS

Application, technical functions and substitution possibilities in the industry

 

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are organic compounds consisting of carbon chains in which the hydrogen atoms are completely or partially replaced by fluorine atoms. The strong chemical bonds between carbon and fluorine atoms in PFAS lead to very stable substances with particularly useful properties such as chemical inertness, water repellency, lubricity, non-stick properties, fire resistance and heat resistance. However, they are not easily biodegradable and are therefore difficult to decompose in the environment (Ye et al. 2015).

PFAS are used in many fields of application in industry and in end products, such as in industrial production, in seals, lubricants, packaging, metal coatings, in medical technology products, electronic devices, solar cells, fuel cells, batteries, in the construction sector and also in consumer products in textiles, cookware and cosmetics (Glüge et al. 2020, ECHA 2023). Due to their effects on the environment and humans and their persistence in the environment, PFAS are currently the subject of much debate and an initiative has been launched at EU level to potentially ban substances (ECHA 2023). Companies from Baden-Württemberg and all over Europe are now looking for substitutes for the use of PFAS in order to have alternatives available in the event of a possible substance ban.

The aim of this meta-study is to create an overview of possible substances and substance groups that have the potential to replace the technical functions of PFAS. This will be examined in depth using selected examples.

The focus is on the following questions:

  1. Where are PFAS used/applied so far? What technical functions do PFAS provide?
  2. Which other substances could be substituted for PFAS?
  3. What conclusions can be drawn from this for the development of innovation in industry in Germany and Baden-Württemberg in particular?

Using software tools based on artificial intelligence (AI), possible substitutes are identified and evaluated in a structured manner. First, the status quo of the use of PFAS in industrial applications is examined, with particular attention being paid to the companies involved and the applications in which PFAS currently still play a significant role. The empirical identification of alternative materials through AI-supported research is then described. An extensive data pool of material research publications is used as a basis and a specially developed AI system is used to extract relevant information. Finally, the identified materials are evaluated for their suitability as potential substitutes for PFAS in industrial applications.

 

Project manager

 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Claus Lang-Koetz

Project partners

 

TIM Consulting, Stuttgart

Project duration

 

05/2023 - 11/2023

Funding institution

 

Logo Thinktank IRS

The project is funded by the Thinktank Industrial Resource Strategies, Unternehmer Baden-Württemberg (UBW e.V.).

Grant No.

 

präziSort

Development and construction of a pilot plant with integral detection for precise individual sorting of plastic waste

 

The aim of the project is to develop and construct a pilot plant based on Polysecure's new sorting process, which can significantly increase the low recycling rate for plastics in particular.

The implementation of three central innovations is planned:

  1. the plant engineering realization of single line sorting with continuous object separation, combined detection and targeted depositing of the separated objects. This means that all objects are identified and sorted in just one step, making the sorting process flexible, scalable and economical, even with numerous fractions, in contrast to the established multi-stage sorting process.

  2. the development of a new integral detector that simultaneously measures and evaluates tracer, NIR, color and image for each object. This enables reliable sorting into definable, unmixed fractions, from which significantly more high-quality recyclates can be produced, particularly through CO2-efficient mechanical recycling.

  3. The development to industrial maturity of the tracer-based sorting (TBS) process patented by Polysecure within a complete industry-typical pilot plant. TBS is based on the use of fluorescent additives (tracers), which - unlike existing sorting processes - enable reliable identification independent of the object.

Pforzheim University is conducting the accompanying research for the system development of the project partner Polysecure. The focus is on the following research objectives:

  1. Provision of economic, technical and ecological material, planning and market data for the recycling of the object streams that are the focus of the project and

  2. Optimization and evaluation of the pilot sorting plant via sorting tests, integration of stakeholders and their requirements as well as consideration of material, planning and market data.

Specifically, a comprehensive collection and sorting study on the quality and quantity of lightweight packaging is being designed and carried out with the aim of characterizing at least 250 kg of lightweight packaging in depth and thus providing basic design data for the further technical and economic development of the TBS process. This further development at the project partner Polysecure is accompanied by technical and scientific support and serves the research application of innovation methods in the process development and market launch of the process. Another research focus is the collection of environmentally relevant process data and the preparation of a life cycle assessment for the process to accompany development.

 

Project managers

 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Woidasky

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Claus Lang-Koetz

Project partners

 

Logo Polysecure
Logo Umwelttechnik BW

Polysecure GmbH

 

 

 

 

Umwelttechnik BW GmbH

Project duration

 

01.10.2023 - 30.09.2025

Funding institution

 

Logo MWAT BW

The project is being funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism via the Invest BW - Innovation II funding program.

Completed projects can be found in the project archive.