BioFusion 4.0

About the project

BioFusion is a key project to rethink designing and manufacturing in the industry and to reach the carbon neutrality by 2050 as defined by the European Commission[1]. Indeed, 1933.19 million tons of industrial waste are generated each year in Europe[2] and industrial processes need improvement to become more sustainable. Not only environmental but also social and technological aspects in sustainable engineering and product development require improvement. 

The BioFusion 4.0 project aims to enhance industry with biological transformation through sustainable development. Biological transformation is the application of materials, structures and principles of living nature in technology to create value. This would be incorporated in an industry 4.0 solution, where traditional manufacturing is automated using smart technologies.

Sustainable solutions for manufacturing will be developed at three different levels:

1. Macroeconomic system in Berlin

Business models and services including biological transformation and reuse of valuable materials to improve durability will be assessed at this level to identify a reference model as the more sustainable one. This will look particularly at circular economy and product longevity.

2. Production location

This large section includes the integration of biological products, smart and connected services within the production, combined with the assessment of product’s environmental impacts. The concept of digital twins, which is a virtual representation of a physical system or product using real-time data, will be integrated. It allows to follow a product during the manufacturing process and to adjust the parameters in real time to control flows such as waste, energy used or environmental footprint.

This part will lead to several deliverables such as an LCA integrated software across all product development stages, a connected production system that would facilitate information share, and an ecologically smart platform.  

3. Production process and technology

This section is focused on research about how additive manufacturing, in particular biogenic polymer, can integrate biological material in products. A demonstrator system for different stages such as end of life will be created using the 3D printing technology. Furthermore, smart wearable robotics with a cloud connection and ergonomics value-added services will be explored to improve the posture of factory workers in the industry. 

[1] 2050 long-term strategy | Climate Action (europa.eu)

[2] Industrial Waste – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics