At HANNOVER MESSE 2024, SmartFactory-KL will be using the SKYE production island to show how it envisions the production of the future. The production island is part of the Shared Production Kaiserslautern project, in which a model truck is produced at various locations using data rooms as a product example.

The asset administration shell as a standardized basis

The so-called asset administration shell (AAS) plays a central role here. This is a joint concept of the "Plattform Industrie 4.0", which aims to develop a standardized basis to create future open decentralized ecosystems and implement innovative applications and business models. For example, the VWS contains information on the product carbon footprint (PCF), the entire life cycle of products and resources or production skills. "The exciting thing about our demonstrator ecosystem is that software and AI methods are advancing in their application on the store floor," explains Simon Jungbluth, smartMA-X project manager and researcher at SmartFactory-KL. "Many things may look similar from the outside, but what is happening invisibly is revolutionary." This is why SmartFactory-KL will be demonstrating how a VWS works LIVE in production at HANNOVER MESSE 2024.

Bringing the circular economy and administration shell to life

"It is important to demonstrate in practice how the circular economy can work," emphasizes Teresa Petzsche, who co-developed the SKYE production island for the Green-AI Hub Mittelstand. "SKYE can be used to show how components can be checked and evaluated using AI and then reintroduced into the production cycle with a product passport in the form of a VWS." If the truck components are in order, they are temporarily stored and are optionally available for reinstallation via the VWS when a new truck is ordered.

CO2 reduction and transparent suppl to save resources and therefore money, and CO2 emissions are also avoided through recycling. "This is exactly where we come in, because CO2 consumption in the production and supply chain of products will come with a price tag in the future," says Alexander David from the startup greenable, which calculates the PCF of model trucks for SmartFactory-KL using its software solution. "In future, we will have to think more holistically. It becomes interesting when companies have to pay for their CO2 emissions and take a closer look. For example, steel is supplied from China, which costs less to buy. However, the associated emissions for transportation and production are significantly higher than green steel from Europe. This is where companies can and must make strategic purchasing decisions in future, based on their carbon footprint." And Simon Jungbluth adds: "This may also increase the incentive to produce and purchase materials in Europe."

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