circular economy

Change is necessary for companies to maintain their competitive edge—both digital and ecological change. But while external support is at hand, the drive for change must come from companies themselves. In this issue of Industry 4.0 Science, experts of the Academic Society for Work and Industrial Organization discuss how the real-world application of innovative technologies lead to resource-efficient manufacturing.

In remanufacturing, used goods are brought up to the quality level of a new product. This distinguishes it from recycling, which recovers materials and converts them into new units or products. Various uncertainties, such as the condition, quantity and time of return, can be minimized with Industry 4.0 approaches and artificial intelligence. A special learning concept ensures that employees have the required competence profiles in this context.

Digital product passports are becoming increasingly mandatory for monitoring saving targets within the framework of EU-wide emission reductions. DPPs can enable a standardized exchange of emissions data along the entire product life cycle. A framework for systematic introduction and targeted use can simplify their often difficult practical integration, especially for small and medium-sized companies.

In order to exploit the full potential of the circular economy, companies need to develop holistic solutions and rethink their business models. With this in mind, a summer school entitled Circular Economy was organized by Merseburg University's start-up service in September 2023 with the aim of developing innovative ideas for new business models with a focus on circular models. Current trends in materials science were used as conceivable scenarios for circular forms of economic activity in the idea generation process. Entrepreneurship is an interface function here. Entrepreneurs not only want to run companies, they also want to bring about change with new products, services and business processes.

In additive manufacturing – which is also known as 3D printing – plastic waste is produced, for example in the form of required support structures or faulty prints. One option for resource recirculation in additive manufacturing is direct use in a pellet 3D printer that incorporates fused granulate fabrication (FGF). The elimination of the filament production process step reduces the manufacturing time and the energy required for recirculation.

The circular economy (CE) promises a more sustainable use of resources by managing products in a cycle and striving for a transformation from a linear to a circular supply chain. In particular, digital technologies as enablers for the circular economy have been increasingly researched and applied in practice in recent years. This article describes which digital technologies offer potential for increasing circularity in the production of circular photovoltaic (PV) systems.