Circular Manufacturing 5.0

Use Case 1

Innovative Raw Material Integration for Sustainable BIPV Production

Onyx, Spain

In the pursuit of sustainability, ONYX aims to integrate raw materials with higher recyclability into its production processes. The goal is to assess and compare the current raw materials used in BIPV (Building-Integrated Photovoltaic) panels with more sustainable alternatives available in the supply chain, particularly those offering greater potential for reuse and recyclability.

This use case focuses on enhancing ONYX’s production by: (a) identifying components of PV panels that can be dismantled without damage at the end of life (EoL) and reused within the value chain. CIRCMAN5.0’s AI-driven parametric eco-design tools and LCA-based methods will support the analysis; (b) selecting material suppliers offering high recyclability rates and optimized transportation solutions. The CIRCMAN5.0 Collaborative Space will facilitate these interactions across multiple dataspace participants, using Product/Material Digital Passports for transparent transactions; (c) integrating these new sustainable materials into ONYX's production process, with machine learning-assisted planning providing recommendations for production reconfiguration and environmental impact analysis supported by CIRCMAN5.0’s Circular and LCA Framework; (d) evaluating the new final product using defect detection models and proposing recovery strategies at the product's EoL, facilitated by a Human-in-the-Loop (HitL) recommendation engine.

Through CIRCMAN5.0’s innovative solutions, ONYX will achieve a more sustainable production process, optimizing material use, reducing environmental impact, and enhancing the product's lifecycle through improved recyclability and reuse strategies.

Use Case 2

Sustainable Design and Circular Production Strategies for PV Solar Panels

Sunage, Switzerland

SUNAGE seeks to optimize its production processes for PV solar panels by incorporating sustainable materials and extending its circular approach. The company’s objectives are to: (1) identify alternative materials during the design phase of its products, while assessing necessary changes in production processes, (2) enhance the circularity of its manufacturing, and (3) ensure compliance with the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which will be stored in the Digital Product Passports (DPP) of its products.

This use case will employ AI-driven parametric techniques for eco-design, offering alternative designs and solutions that reduce the environmental footprint of SUNAGE’s PV modules throughout their lifecycle. To address supply chain delays, the CIRCMAN5.0 Collaborative Space will recommend suppliers with better availability, proximity, and stock to meet the company’s needs efficiently.

Additionally, machine learning-assisted production planning and a Cognitive Digital Twin simulated environment will integrate with SUNAGE’s monitoring systems to provide instructions that minimize energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and resource usage across the manufacturing stages. These energy-related metrics will be evaluated through the Circular and LCA Framework, drawing on LCA-based methods for embodied energy and carbon footprint analysis, and AI-driven distribution optimization algorithms.

All these improvements will be tracked and ensured through the Digital Product Passports, accompanying SUNAGE’s PV modules throughout the supply chain, ensuring sustainability and compliance with circular economy principles.

Use Case 3

Circular Design and AI-Enhanced Production for Organic Photovoltaics

Asca, Germany

ASCA is focused on enhancing the sustainability of its Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) products by improving both the design and production processes. The key business goals are to: (1) replace existing materials with more recyclable and reusable alternatives that offer equal or better performance and lower environmental impact, and (2) implement LCA assessments of in-house production processes to reduce the overall environmental footprint across the value chain.

This use case aims to achieve these objectives by leveraging CIRCMAN5.0’s Collaborative Space to identify suppliers of sustainable materials with high reuse and recyclability potential. These alternatives will be incorporated into ASCA’s design software to propose new OPV models. Since OPVs are inherently recyclable, AI-driven parametric eco-design tools will be used to optimize the assembly and disassembly process, ensuring minimal damage and a higher recycling rate at the end of life.

Additionally, the Cognitive Digital Twin simulated environment, supported by AI-based Environmental Impact and LCA Assessment tools, will evaluate the production process from design to installation. This assessment will track pollutants and resource consumption, providing recommendations for optimizing the entire production cycle. All environmental data and product lifecycle information will be securely stored and tracked through the Digital Product Passport (DPP), ensuring transparency and compliance with circular economy principles.

Use Case 4

Optimizing End-of-Life Recovery for Multi-PV Solar Panel Types

SoliTek, Lithuania

SoliTek is committed to enhancing the recyclability and reusability of end-of-life (EoL) PV solar panels within the manufacturing industry by implementing circular strategies. The goal is to minimize waste, maximize resource efficiency, and adopt a closed-loop approach that aligns with sustainability objectives.

This use case focuses on developing recommendations for the design of PV solar panels that prioritize easy disassembly and dismantling at the EoL stage. SoliTek’s in-house recycling unit will follow optimized disassembly steps to ensure that PV panel parts are not damaged, allowing them to be reused in new panels or other products within the supply chain. CIRCMAN5.0 will support this process by providing AI-driven parametric eco-design tools, circular and LCA frameworks, and a Human-in-the-Loop recommendation engine to guide the design of PV panels with recovery procedures in mind.

Additionally, CIRCMAN5.0’s Collaborative Space, which integrates multiple manufacturing dataspace participants, will enable SoliTek to efficiently dispose of spare parts, waste, and EoL PV components within the supply chain, all tracked and managed through Digital Product Passports (DPP). This provides a competitive advantage by ensuring transparency and compliance with circular economy principles.

To further improve SoliTek’s environmental impact, materials will be evaluated through CIRCMAN5.0’s eco-design tools to identify more recyclable options where necessary. Energy consumption and emissions throughout the production stages will also be assessed, with recommendations for factory improvements aimed at reducing emissions and resource use provided via a Cognitive Digital Twin simulated environment.