SLE - Sustainable Lifecycle Engineering - Sustainability in engineering

Overview

In today's world, developers often lack appropriate methods for designing and creating sustainable systems. Decision-making in the product development process, especially with regard to sustainable options, is often characterized by uncertainty. The question of whether, for example, an electric motor should be encapsulated to minimize heat loss, or whether encapsulation should be dispensed with to facilitate recycling, raises important ecological and economic questions. In addition, it remains unclear which solution will have the greatest CO2-saving effect. Against this backdrop, the Sustainable Lifecycle Engineering (SLE) project was created with the aim of equipping developers and product managers with the necessary tools to take sustainability aspects into account in the early stages of the engineering process.

Objective

The main objective of the Sustainable Lifecycle Engineering (SLE) project is to enable developers and product managers to systematically incorporate sustainability aspects into their decision-making while designing complex systems. This will be achieved by developing and implementing methods and approaches that build on Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). Existing MBSE methods will be extended to include the dimension of sustainability, integrating consideration of environmental, social, and economic considerations into the development process. The project's partnership promises interdisciplinary collaboration to bridge the gap between technological innovation and sustainability requirements. Ultimately, the SLE project strives to revolutionize the design of products and systems by focusing on sustainability from the outset, contributing to greener and more future-oriented development.

Key Facts

Project duration:
06/2023 - 05/2026
Funded by:
MWIKE NRW

More Information

Principal Investigators

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Prof. Dr.-Ing. Roman Dumitrescu

Advanced Systems Engineering / Heinz Nixdorf Institut

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