If sustainable technologies and products are to be created, numerous dependencies need to be taken into account - across all development and life cycle phases. The challenge: a classic life cycle analysis (LCA) can currently only be carried out in late development phases, when many decisions can no longer be reversed. In addition, the sustainability of a product depends largely on its subsequent life cycle, i.e. from the use of the individual components through to disposal.
This is precisely where the experts at the Fraunhofer IAO and their partners in the Cyclometric project come in: Their solution brings forward the holistic assessment to the early development phase in order to set the course for sustainable and recyclable products as early as the concept design stage.
A central component of their solution is software that integrates seamlessly into existing development environments. From the very first product idea, it provides estimates ofCO2 emissions, expected life cycle and other environmental aspects. As the product definition progresses, the forecasts are refined and allow targeted adjustments to be made.
