Circular economy in product creation The production of mechatronic products, such as semiconductors, is characterized by high energy requirements, the use of critical raw materials and complex manufacturing conditions. One approach to solving this problem is the circular economy. This means avoiding waste by reusing and repairing existing products. If this is not possible, the products are broken down again into their starting materials, i.e. raw materials, in order to recycle them. This basic idea must also be implemented in the product creation process. The aim of the ZirkuPro project is therefore to develop a system for holistic circular product creation for intelligent technical systems. A major focus is placed on electronics, as it is an essential component of intelligent technical systems, it consists of different and partly critical material combinations (rare earths), it is often underestimated in terms of CO2 emissions and it is facing a necessary design change due to new legislation and regulations.

In order to enable the companies in the Leading-Edge Cluster to develop, use and deploy sustainable products in a targeted manner in the future, various obstacles must be removed and the advantages of a holistic circular product creation must be clarified. On the one hand, the obstacles result from a lack of specialized knowledge on how the topic of sustainability can be specifically taken into account in product creation and how business can also be generated with corresponding development approaches. On the other hand, the interrelationships across domains and product generations are often not transparent. In addition, product life cycles in the field of electronics in particular differ from those in traditional mechanical and plant engineering. Today, the resulting challenges are only insufficiently taken into account in development. To meet these challenges and establish a holistic circular product development in the Leading-Edge Cluster, the following fields of action arise for the project:

In the manufacturing industry, product innovations are often based on the close interaction of mechanics, electrics/electronics and software technology. Against the backdrop of the resulting increased complexity, transparency in the product development process is increasingly dwindling (field of action 1). Developers can hardly assess the impact of singular design decisions on the overall system and, in particular, on its sustainability. Consequently, there is a need for evaluation and communication of the sometimes intransparent factors influencing the sustainability of products. In addition to purely ecological aspects, points such as material criticality and (unintended/intentional) obsolescence are increasingly playing a decisive role in product development, especially against the background of the entire product life cycle. Strategic decisions that address these challenges, such as the upgradeability of products, modular architectures for better reparability or recycling-optimized system design, form the basis for circular product creation. For this, consistent target images (field of action 2) are needed.

In the leading-edge cluster it's OWL, systems engineering has been a core topic of the innovation platform (2012 - 2017) from the beginning. Methods and tools have been developed that have found their way into companies through innovation projects and transfer projects. So far, the focus has been on the development of intelligent technical systems (cross-sectional project Systems Engineering) and the introduction of Systems Engineering in companies (SE4OWL). However the sustainability of the systems has not been explicitly considered. Consequently, there is a lack of holistic approaches and development methods (field of action 3) for engineering against the background of a circular product creation. In particular, the dependencies of design decisions on the circular economy, up to the (electronic) component level, have so far been insufficiently addressed.

The concept of circularity represents a radical change compared to the historically shaped linear economy. When engineering circular products, it is therefore important to think holistically about the value creation (field of action 4) of the company. In the resulting value creation systems, the business models of the stakeholders involved must also be taken into account in order to ensure their participation in the long term. Overall, there is a lack of a fully comprehensive consideration of the circular business to operationalize circular product innovations.

The requirements placed on the sustainability of intelligent technical systems, and in particular address the end of a product life cycle much more strongly, require novel approaches. Product and production systems, as well as recycling and any reuse or improvement of products, must be considered and coordinated from the outset. Advanced systems engineering, which integrates system-oriented and highly innovative approaches to cross-disciplinary engineering, offers the potential to meet the challenges described.

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 The overall objective of the project is the creation of a system for the holistic circular product creation for intelligent technical systems. A major focus is placed on electronics, since it is an essential component of intelligent technical systems, it consists of different and partly critical material combinations (rare earths), it is often underestimated with regard to CO₂ emissions and, on the other hand, it is facing a necessary design change due to new legislation and regulations. The overall objective is divided into two strands. On the one hand, the methodical development of the systematics is carried out, which integrates approaches for potential identification, hints for product design and modularity, functional solution aspects and business model specific tools. On the other hand, the contents of the systematics will be continuously developed, adapted and validated based on the design and implementation of real industrial pilot projects. For this purpose, suitable products of the partner companies will be selected. Subsequently, the implementation will take place in the context of abstracted demonstrators according to the previously identified target images (e.g. modularization to increase reparability, eco-design or obsolescence). In this way, a secured detailed understanding is built and at the same time a systematic is developed, which allows further companies to access the holistic circular product creation.