The global drivers of economic transformation are bringing about fundamental changes in German industry. AI and digital connectivity are redefining processes, business models, markets and competitive positions, while systemic change is also essential for meeting climate and sustainability goals. This is leading to new requirements in terms of work organisation and job profiles, skills and roles in the workplace. The development of sovereign, resilient and fully circular value networks can show us how to break free of linear value chains – but it will call for a systemic approach. acatech’s projects and initiatives support this transition by providing advice and facilitating networking and transfer.
A holistic approach to the circular economy
The creation of a circular economy calls for a holistic strategy in order to effectively achieve closed-loop material cycles. acatech has actively engaged in the formulation of a National Circular Economy Strategy* and in the Alliance for Transformation*. The National Circular Economy Strategy finally puts the circular economy on the government agenda* and sets out strategic priorities for its implementation. The Academy was able to draw on the findings of projects such as the Circular Economy Initiative and the Battery Passport consortium. These can provide a valuable basis for an integrated, holistic approach to the circular economy and effectively support its development.
The advice provided by acatech focused in particular on the construction and battery industries. The buildings sector currently accounts for approximately 60 percent of global resource consumption, over 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and more than 35 percent of global energy demand. Batteries play a key role in electric mobility and as a means of storage in renewable energy systems. A circular approach to design, production, use and reuse can reduce our consumption of valuable resources and materials and strengthen our sovereignty in relation to the supply of raw materials.
Battery passport prepares the way for implementation of a circular battery ecosystem
Electric vehicles are key to the expansion of climate-friendly mobility. acatech’s 2024 Mobility Monitor survey* indicated growing public interest in electric vehicles. There is no doubt that there will be a huge increase in demand for lithium-ion batteries both in Germany and worldwide. As well as being expensive, the production of these batteries consumes a lot of energy and valuable resources – so it makes sense to maximise their lifetime and to use circular production processes.
The digital battery passport provides a basis for doing this. This digital product passport offers stakeholders the necessary transparency across the entire battery value chain, enabling them to save resources and build new circular business models. The consortium project has supplemented its Content Guidance with its own standard. DIN DKE SPEC 99100 defines the data attributes to be included in the battery passport and provides support for stakeholders with its implementation.
The Content Guidance is accompanied by a Technical Guidance. This equips users with a framework and recommendations for the technical implementation of the EU Battery Passport, which will become mandatory in 2027. Also provided is a Software Demonstrator that makes it possible to test the battery passport’s concept, functionality and technical feasibility.
The Value Assessment is another milestone in the battery passport project. For the first time, it is now possible to quantify the battery passport’s benefits. These include improved recycling rates and the potential to reduce CO2 emissions. The Value Assessment also shows the cost reductions that can be achieved in technical testing, pre-processing and subsequent treatment. The battery passport is now ready for the forthcoming implementation stage and can serve as a blueprint for similar digital product passports in other industries.
Using digital technology to turbocharge the circular economy
The transition from a linear to a circular economy is progressing slowly. Seven percent of all raw materials used globally are secondary raw materials, while the current figure for Germany is 13 percent. So we need to start with the basics. This includes ensuring a continuous exchange of information across the entire value chain and among all the actors. The acatech STUDY Digital Enablers of the Circular Economy shows how digital applications can play a key role in this regard.
We can decouple growth and resource consumption if, instead of using the linear produce – consume – dispose model, we implement a systemic circular economy approach. Digital technology gives us the tools to do this by enabling the information sharing that can form the basis of new circular business models.
Christoph M. Schmidt, acatech Vice-President
T-shirts, washing machines and houses
Three different sectors of the economy and three products with different-length life cycles: the study uses the examples of T-shirts (textiles), washing machines (electronics) and single-family dwellings (construction) to identify which digital enablers are particularly effective in these sectors and how they can best work together.
The study concludes that digital product passports (DPPs) and data spaces are crucial, since they can be used across different sectors and have benefits virtually everywhere. They provide details about a product’s properties, availability, condition and use, as well as recycling data and information about the pricing of environmental costs. DPPs require interoperable data formats and interfaces that enable the growth of data ecosystems and the emergence of new business models.
As well as being involved in the main enablers such as digital product passports and data spaces, acatech also coordinates various platform and consortium projects. Our aim is to develop scalable, joint solution strategies for a circular economy that will create a sustainable, resilient and sovereign basis for our resource supply.
Thomas Weber, acatech President
But it isn’t enough simply to use digital tools. The relationship between the benefits of an application and its energy consumption and environmental impact must always be weighed up. And this relationship varies across the three use cases, reflecting the different sectors they represent. In the textiles sector, while there is a strong focus on the production, intensity of use and durability of clothing products, the structures for collecting, sorting and recycling textiles also play a vital role. In the case of electrical appliances, the key is to extend and intensify the use phase. Meanwhile, the greatest potential of digital tools in the single-family dwellings sector is in conversion and renovation projects.
The HR Working Group: how can the changes in the workplace benefit people and organisations?
Digitalisation and new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are fundamentally transforming the world of work. In 2024, the HR Working Group focused its activities on the potential of artificial intelligence in businesses. The spotlight was on the dual role of Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs).The first part of this role entails rolling AI out in companies, training people to use it, and communicating its benefits. The second challenge involves the use of AI for the targeted development of HR functions, to enable early identification of requirements and opportunities and to secure the business’s future. The HR Working Group’s #FutureWorkDebatte series presented ideas about the different aspects of this key topic, while also broadening the debate to include the wider themes that must also be addressed at the same time. As well as exploring the potential of technological developments like generative AI, the HR Working Group – now bolstered by ten new academic members – heightened its focus on human issues. The leading figures from HR management, academia and the social partners jointly identified the meta-skills that are currently gaining in importance and the implications for the workforce and organisational development. Alternative career paths that diverge from conventional management careers – sometimes referred to as “specialist careers” – were also discussed as a means of addressing the skills shortage*.
Host and Executive Board member Frank Riemensperger welcomed delegates to the HR Working Group summit* at SAP in Berlin. The main theme of the conference was HR’s role as a driver of the AI transition in organisations. Expert speakers provided different perspectives on topics including the regulatory burden, the quality of education and continuing professional development, and participation. They discussed the skills that HR and employees will be expected to have in years to come, and how HR managers and senior executives can build and strengthen them in a targeted manner. In addition to technical skills like programming and development and interaction skills in human-AI teams, complementary skills such as critical thinking, creativity and innovation are also becoming important.
- acatech President Thomas Weber spotlights the circular economy at a summit in the Federal Chancellery
- Battery Pass-Konsortium veröffentlicht technischen Leitfaden und Software-Demonstrator für EU-Batteriepass*
- Biotope gegen den Fachkräftemangel: Was Fachkarrieren wachsen lässt*
- Erste Analyse des Battery Pass Konsortiums zeigt Vorteile – und Herausforderungen – des Europäischen Batteriepasses auf*
- #FutureWorkDebatte: GenAI and New Work: Combining domain knowledge, AI and cooperation as a competitive advantage
- #FutureWorkDebatte: Biotope gegen den Fachkräftemangel: Was Fachkarrieren wachsen lässt*
- HR-Kreis Gipfeltreffen 2024: Von Moll zu Dur: Wie HR die KI-Transformation treibt und umsetzt*
- Mehr Drehmoment für die Kreislaufwirtschaft – acatech Studie definiert Potenziale Digitaler Enabler*
- Vor die Welle kommen: Wie Metakompetenzen durch den Wandel navigieren*
- 2024: Das Jahr, in dem Wissensaufbau und Use Cases über KI-Readiness entscheiden?*
* Content only available in German