Research groups

Economic decisions often depend on a large number of different parameters and data. In order to strengthen the Circular Economy, a corresponding infrastructure is necessary, which on the one hand supports data and information acquisition, and on the other hand also provides decision support. Digital platforms for knowledge exchange and decision support in the sense of the Circular Economy goals are particularly useful in the area of repair, remanufacturing and Second Life concepts.

Data and information are a key factor for sustainable decisions. In the Circular Economy in particular, however, it is often not possible to generate the data and information oneself, but is dependent on the information provided by other stakeholders. In order for the various stakeholders in this area to be able to exchange their information efficiently, a legal framework is needed, for example in the form of data and information marketplaces. However, trading with data and information gives rise to a large number of new challenges that do not exist in this way in classic e-commerce, such as semantic problems, etc.

Most of the currently prevailing business models clearly pursue economic interests. A green image is currently more marketing than anything else. The question in this research field is, what is the right balance between ecological and economic interests?

The recycling industry in particular is not very automated in terms of the state of the art. While there is already talk of the 4th industrial revolution in the area of industrial production, the recycling industry is more between the first and second industrial revolution. With the help of Industry 4.0 approaches, as well as approaches from the field of computer science and digitization (for example AI, digital twins, etc.), great progress can be achieved here and, for example, the outcome of raw materials from recycling processes can be increased.

Waste streams and waste management are another current challenge. In particular, incorrect waste separation (for example, plastic waste in organic waste) makes it difficult to recover pure raw materials. Here, too, digitization offers potential for increasing the purity of material flows and opening up new recycling options.