Department Sustainable Production
The Sustainable Production Department serves as a cross-thematic and interdisciplinary pooling of competencies in the field of sustainability in production. We understand sustainable production as the creation of goods and services using processes and systems that do not cause negative environmental impacts, are energy and resource efficient, economically profitable and compatible for employees, the community and consumers. In doing so, we look at different aspects of sustainability from the perspective of assembly technology, production management and manufacturing technology in order to ensure the competitiveness of manufacturing companies.
Main Competences of the Research Field
Industrial Circular Economy:
We believe that it takes manufacturing companies to drive the transition to a circular economy. With our circular economy research field, we support companies in their first steps towards a circular economy and optimize existing systems. This includes research into methods and technical solutions for the design and evaluation of circular products, the planning and implementation of end-of-life processes such as disassembly and remanufacturing, and the design of circular factories and production networks. Our interdisciplinary team includes employees from the Sustainable Production, Production Management and Logistics, Assembly Technologies and Robotics departments.
Contact: circular.economy(at)iwb.tum.de
Industrial Energy Systems:
We investigate how the key principles of energy sustainability (sufficiency, efficiency and consistency) can be implemented in factories. To this end, we develop approaches to reduce unnecessary energy demands, to efficiently supply the essential useful energy, and to cover the overall energy demand with renewable sources. Our methodological approach relies on discrete time series analyses, mathematical modeling, life cycle analyses, and cost calculations.
Contact: markus.woerle(at)iwb.tum.de
Transparency Creation and Risk Assessment:
We develop methods for sustainability assessment and for identifying and evaluating sustainability risks in production. Our aim is to enable companies to identify and assess sustainability risks at an early stage in order to take proactive measures to minimize risks. We take ecological, economic and social factors into account in order to promote a holistically sustainable approach to production. Our work includes risk assessments, life cycle assessments (LCA) and corporate sustainability reporting in accordance with the relevant regulations (e.g. ESRS, CSRD, SBTi, GRI).
Contact: jan.geier(at)iwb.tum.de
Our Forms of Industrial Project Work:
- Bilateral Industrial Projects:
Short- to medium-term contracts for individual customer requirements; specialized consulting projects for the implementation of sustainability goals along our research focus areas
- Publicly Funded Projects:
Medium- and long-term research projects in collaboration with research and industry partners
- “TUM Model”:
Long-term project with direct involvement of an employee in the cooperating company
Find out more on current projects.
Our Advantages:
- Interdisciplinary team with extensive expertise
- Individually tailored solutions for your company
- Industrial and academic network