ESPOO, FINLAND -- A collaboration of European companies and research institutes has developed a cloud-based, customizable, modular software platform for improving the sustainability performance of industrial products by lowering production costs and reducing emissions.

The platform provides a virtual collaborative environment for organizations that are jointly developing the same product or service.

The system, created during the recently completed EPES (Eco-Process Engineering System for composition of services to optimize product life cycle) project, effectively combines a context-aware approach, cloud services, industrial internet, collaborative networks, simulation and assessment of environmental impacts. It offers a set of tools for experts in cooperating organizations to develop and improve products and services throughout their life cycle in a collaborative process.

With the help of the software, it is possible to clarify and partly automate complex development tasks by combining improvements made by specialists both digitally and manually. The analyses are reproducible, and thus enable a wider scope of study than traditional methodology, the developers say.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, a research and technology company, developed the simulation module for the system, allowing implementation of customized and easily automated simulation services to support decision-making processes. With the help of these services, it is easier to take into account, for example, sustainable development and eco-efficiency indicators, such as energy and material efficiency and emissions, in decision-making processes.

The system prototype was tested for aircraft wing design in collaboration with Airbus. Using the solution, the company was able to make decisions related to new wing and factory concepts in a virtual collaboration environment, where emissions and use of materials could also be taken into account.

The system was also applied to the planning of maintenance practices for windmills and to high voltage cable design. For example, the software optimized wind farm energy production. Using the- tool, this was achieved by taking into account the status of the windmills, together with wind forecasts and other key resources.

Besides VTT, other parties involved in the project were Tecnalia of Spain, acting as project coordinator, Germany's ATB, software companies Sisteplant from Spain and Esteco of Italy, plus Airbus, Tamoin and NKT, with which the development work results were tested.

A video of the project is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXt8B_O7lm0

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