Research & Innovation Projects

WhiteCycle

Innovative process for PET recycling: A case study on mechanical and enzymatic sorting of tires, textiles, and hoses.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is widely used for plastics and textiles, resulting in more than 20 million t/y of complex waste worldwide, for which there is no viable circular economy today. Most complex waste is landfilled or incinerated. There is an urgent need to develop a circular solution to convert complex PET waste from plastics and textiles back into high-value-added products. The EU-funded WHITECYCLE project plans to introduce a two-fold process that will enable the transformation of PET waste into high-value-added products. First, technologies will be developed to increase the PET content of complex waste streams to 80%, and then an enzyme-based recycling method will be developed to sustainably recover PET monomers from all types of waste streams. The monomers will then be repolymerized and recycled. The innovative process will be demonstrated in a number of real cases to prepare for market introduction for high-value-added applications (tires, flat tubes, and multi-material textiles).

iPoint's role in this project is to evaluate the new recycling processes in terms of their environmental impact and life cycle costs.

More information about the project can be found here.

Project partners: Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin, Axelera, Carbios SA, Deutsche Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung Denkendorf, Estato Umweltservice Gmbh, Inditex, Institut Français Du Et De L’habillement, Pprime Institute,IRIS Technology Solution Sociedad Limitada, Kordsa Teknik Tekstil A. S, Mandals SA, TLC Synergies, Université de Poitiers, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

Keywords: recycling, LCA, LCC, waste management, waste treatment, separation technologies, PET, plastic

COOLBat

CO₂-saving lightweight solutions on the next-generation battery housing demonstrator

Project period: Q2 2021 – Q2 2024

COOLBat aims to reduce CO₂ emissions through the development, optimization and scaling of lightweight materials and technologies for a battery housing in the field of electromobility. The focus is on innovative materials and processes for function-integrated lightweight construction and resource efficiency. iPoint’s involvement lays in the ecological evaluation with consideration of the entire product life cycle with different scenarios. The software Umberto and the web application iPoint Product Sustainability is meant to be used to reach the goal of the project.

Project partner: iPoint-systems gmbh, Fraunhofer IWU, Fraunhofer IFAM, Fraunhofer IST, Fraunhofer WKI, Auto-Entwicklungsring Sachsen GmbH, Basdorf Lampe und Partner GmbH, Compositence GmbH, INVENT GmbH, LXP Group GmbH, MID Solutions GmbH, Synthopol Chemie Dr. rer. Pol. Koch GmbH & Co. KG, Tigres GmbH, Trimet Aluminium SE, Daimler AG

Keywords: LCA, Umberto, iPoint Product Sustainability

> Learn more about COOLBat on the project website

LCT

Life Cycle Technologies for Hybrid Structures

Project period: Q1 2020 – Q4 2024

The aim of the LCT project is to develop methods and technologies for the design of components in multi-material construction with integrated, holistic consideration of technical, economic and ecological target variables and, above all, to investigate the use and end-of-life options in greater detail with the aid of targeted condition monitoring. iPoint develops an intelligent and automated data selection that can be used for LCA models (especially for serial production). Apart from that iPoint is also building a powerful interface for dynamic modeling of production processes and developing an automated scenario calculation. Umberto and iPoint Product Sustainability applications are used to assess the environmental aspects of the production process-, material- and component-specific data with subsequent storage in a database.

Project partners: iPoint-systems gmbh (formerly ifu Hamburg),Institute for Joining and Welding Technology of the Technical University of Braunschweig, Institute for Machine Tools and Manufacturing Technology of the Technical University of Braunschweig, Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut, INVENT GmbH, Procon X-Ray GmbH, Surfactor GmbH, Volkswagen AG, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe SE, ZwickRoell GmbH & Co. KG

Keywords: iPoint Product Sustainability, Automotive Innovation, LCA, Product EOL

> Learn more about LCT on the project website

KoLibri

Complex lightweight structures for electronic applications within the mobility

Project period: Q1 2022 – Q1 2025

The Kolibri project addresses new concepts for the production of mass-reduced and sustainable power electronics modules. The aim is to develop several lightweight heat sink prototypes for various mobility applications in the automotive, aerospace and rail sectors. Both aluminum foams and additively manufactured and galvanized plastic foams will be used. The project takes into account the entire life cycle of the prototypes and designs it to be as resource-efficient as possible. In the process, iPoint is preparing life cycle assessments for the various prototype demonstrators and developing an interface that enables access to environmental data in the CAD software at an early stage of product development.

Project partner: iPoint-systems gmbh (formerly ifu Hamburg), Siemens AG, Valeo Siemens eAutomotive, Siemens Mobility, TU-Dresden, Institute for Lightweight Construction and Plastics Technology, NRU GmbH, TU-Dresden – Institute for Lightweight Construction and Plastics Technology, Freiberg University of Technology, METROM Mechatronische Maschinen GmbH, Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems, Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU

Keywords: LCA, Umberto, lightweight construction, automotive sector, metal foams, cooling performance, iPoint Product Sustainability

> Learn more about KOLIBRI on the project website

Design for Circularity

Operationalization in industrial product development (DfC Industry)

Project period: Q1 2022 – Q1 2024

Only if the entire life cycle of products is known already in the design process, companies can evaluate circular economy improvements in terms of economic efficiency, climate friendliness and resource efficiency. This is exactly what this project aims to shed light on. The goal is to develop a set of rules for a Design for Circularity (DfC) that can support circular economy strategies and business models in the product development process. In parallel, the environmental and resource efficiency assessment of products is to be combined with artificial intelligence (AI) methods. iPoint’s focus within this project is the development of data and interaction concepts for the integration of the solution approaches into design and development environments.

Project partner: iPoint-systems gmbh (formerly ifu Hamburg), Institute for Industrial Ecology (INEC/ Pforzheim University), Robert Bosch GmbH, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI-SEE)

Keywords: LCA, iPoint Product Sustainability, Circularity Assessment, Product Development, Automation

> Learn more about DfC on the project website

CIRPASS

Collaborative Initiative for a Standards-based Digital Product Passport for Stakeholder-Specific Sharing of Product Data for a Circular Economy  

Project duration: Q3 2022 – Q2 2024  

The aim of CIRPASS is to prepare the ground for gradual piloting and deployment of Digital Product Passports (DPP) starting in 2023, with an initial focus on the electrical and electronics, batteries, and textiles sectors, while laying the foundations for a cross-sector DPP based on common rules, principles, taxonomy, and standards. 

iPoint contributes to the analysis of battery stakeholders’ perspectives, technical needs, and requirements and supports identifying relevant data and DPP-oriented reference architectures. In addition it provides input to relevant battery product data standards and formats. ​ 

Project partners: cea, SLR Consulting, Fraunhofer IZM, Wuppertal Institute, Tiftelsen Chalmers Industriteknik (CIT), VDE, Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), BAM, TU Delft, TalTech, ERCIM/W3C, F6S, VELTHA, +ImpaKT, CEI Society ApS, GS1, Energy Web Foundation, atma.io, Worldline FRANCE SAS, SyncForce, Innovalia, KIC InnoEnergy SE, Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), Global Electronics Council, DIGITALEUROPE AISBL, Textile Exchange, RI.SE, Global Textile Scheme (GTS), circular.fashion 

Keywords:  Digital Product Passport 

DigiTain

Digitalization for Sustainability - Processes, methods and models for fully digital product development of sustainable electric drive architectures

Project period: Q1 2023 – Q1 2026

The increasing importance of ecological and economic sustainability criteria in the development of vehicles and drive architectures poses challenges for product developers, as digital processes, methods, and tools for a development-accompanying ecological optimization of the entire vehicle are lacking and no binding standards for fully digital product development and assessment exist. The DigiTain project will therefore develop processes, methods and models for fully digital product development and certification of sustainable electric drive architectures and test them using a technology carrier.

iPoint has the lead of the work package sustainability, in which the sustainability-oriented product development process (NEP) will be developed as a generic framework. Methods and tools will be developed that enable a semantic description of sustainability contexts and the integration of the information flows needed. In this context, iPoint develops generic, digital LCA models and a concept that enables the creation of a digital product passport at the whole vehicle level. Furthermore, a prototype for a digital battery passport on the component level as well as the ecological assessment of different scenarios along the NEP will be developed.

Project partners (Selection): Mercedes-Benz AG, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, ARENA2036 e.V., AVL Deutschland GmbH, BMW Group, Daimler Truck AG , Forward Engineering GmbH , Fraunhofer Gesellschaft EMI, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft IWM, GreenIng GmbH & Co. KG, KIRCHHOFF Automotive Deutschland GmbH, MAHLE Filtersysteme GmbH, SGS-TÜV Saar GmbH, Technische Universität Darmstadt, TU Dresden, Uni BW München, Universität Stuttgart, Verband der Automobilindustrie e.V., XPLM Solution GmbH, ZF Friedrichshafen AG

Keywords: Life Cycle Assessment, iPoint Product Sustainability, Circular Economy, Digital Product Passport, automotive sector, product development, digital certification

IDcycLIB

Innovation platform of a green, detectable, and directly recyclable lithium-ion battery

Project period: Q3/2021-Q3/2024

With the growing demand for efficient battery systems, the requirements for batteries are constantly increasing. IDcycLIB’s goal is to design and produce a more sustainable lithium-ion battery with a focus on Design for Recycling and the introduction of an efficient recycling process. iPoint is working on the development of the digital battery pass and the sustainability assessment that accompanies the product development.

Project Partner: iPoint-systems gmbh, Carl Padberg Zentrifugenbau GmbH, Fraunhofer-Institute for Silicate Research ISC, Fraunhofer-Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Polysecure GmbH, Pure Devices GmbH, MAB Recycling GmbH, Leclanché GmbH, EurA AG, BASF SE

Keywords: LCA, Digital Product Passport, Lithium-ion battery, iPoint Product Sustainability

ReDiBlock

Resource conservation through distributed ledger and blockchain technology for industrial production and circular economy

Project period: Q4 2020 – Q4 2022

This project aims to design and develop a distributed ledger technology (DLT) infrastructure that meets the requirements of a sustainable economy and society and increases the efficiency of the circular economy. Hereby, supply chain actors can track the life cycle of raw materials and products in a trustworthy way and make responsible decisions based on it. iPoint in this project supports system analysis and the creation of a design concept. The supply chain of the precious metal sector serves as a use case and supports iPoint’s development of a prototype for a DLT-associated digital material passport.

Project partners: iPoint-systems gmbh, THINKTANK Industrial Resource Strategies(Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KIT), Institute for Applied Informatics and Formal Description Methods (KIT); Institute for Industrial Ecology (Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences)

Keywords: Digital Material Passport, Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)

> Learn more about ReDiBlock on the project website

DIBICHAIN

Digital mapping of closed-loop systems using blockchain technology

Project period: Q2 2019 – Q2 2022

Resource efficiency in supply chains can only be achieved if details on the product’s origin, composition and production process are known. On the other hand, actors in the supply chain are often not willing to expose their identity or manufacturing details. DIBICHAIN aims to map material and product life cycles using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to enhance circular economy. While DLTs are usually known to provide full transparency between its actors, this project considers the concerns of companies exposing their full identity on the ledger. The aircraft component “Bionic Partition” served as an exemplary use case to identify the most relevant categories of needed product information for the development of a software demonstrator. As part of the demonstrator, iPoint provides a SustainHub related prototypical application that enables supply chain actors to request and declare product carbon footprints and recycling information and to publish them anonymously on the DLT.  

Project partners: iPoint-systems gmbh, Capgemini, Blockchain Research Lab gGmbH, CHAINSTEP GmbH und Airbus

Keywords: SustainHub, Digital Product Passport, Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)

> Learn more about DIBICHAIN on the project website

SustainBlock

Project duration: 02/2018-05/2019

The goal of this project is to create a Blockchain-based system for tracing certain raw materials from conflict-affected and high-risk areas – so-called Conflict Minerals or 3TG – across the entire supply chain via verified, cryptographically secured transactions.

Funded by the EPRM

The SustainBlock project is funded by the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM).

> Learn more about SustainBlock on the project website.

eLRT - electronic Labor Rights Template

Project duration: 03/2016-11/2016

Development of an open-access, Excel-based template to support companies in their compliance with global human trafficking and modern-day slavery legislation. In cooperation with Dr. Chris N. Bayer, Development International, and an international stakeholder forum of private sector and civil society representatives.

> Learn more about eLRT on the project website.

SustainHub - Sustainability Data Exchange Hub

Project duration: 02/2012-01/2015

Development of a universal data hub for the exchange of compliance and sustainability data along the supply chain. The consortium consists of 15 partner organizations from 7 countries across Europe.

Funded by FP7 Programme of the EU

Funded within the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission (FP7).

> Learn more about the project SustainHub on the project website.

> Learn more about our SustainHub compliance & sustainability platform here.