Transformable Decentral Production for Local Economies with Minimized Carbon Footprint

Due to high energy-intensive processes and a dependence on carbon-based materials, the process industry plays a major role in climate change. Therefore, the substitution of fossil resources by bio-based resources is indispensable. This leads to challenges arising from accompanying changes of the type, amount and location of resources. At the same time, transformable production systems are currently in the focus of research addressing the required flexibility. These systems which consist of modular production and logistics units offer the possibility to adapt flexibly in volatile conditions within dynamic supply chains. Hence, this work compiles elements for environmental sustainability, which minimize the carbon footprint in the process industry: transformable production systems, the utilization of bio-based resources, carbon dioxide and renewable energy as well as the application of these elements in decentral production networks. Finally, possible use cases are determined based on the combination of these elements through a multi-criteria analysis.