Digital Platform
GENIUS platform
GENIUS wants to develop a DIGITAL PLATFORM to manage energy and material flows from a carbon footprint perspective. The platform creates and analyzes digital Energy and Material Flow Analysis that can manage digitally and in an integrated way the immense amount of data that is generated within a company. The platform is capable of collecting data to map data about a product and its supply chain and make this information available so that all stakeholders, including consumers, can better evaluate the products they use and their impact. This increased availability and traceability of data is intended to facilitate the transition to a circular economy.
Scheme of the GENIUS platform
The idea is to create standard protocols for the collection and digitization of data, allowing a Digital Twin (virtual models) of all industrial activities to be built and their performance measured. The creation of Digital Twins of each element of the business (factories, machinery and processes, including the entire supply chain) makes it possible to identify areas to be optimized even in relations with suppliers.
The virtual model enables a continuous stream of real-time data to be analyzed through the use of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and machine learning to perform predictive analysis and complex simulations in real time.
Artificial intelligence underpins the model. This allows advanced forecasting, that is, simulating the possible evolutions and developments of scenarios, in order to predict the medium- and long-term effects of changes and strategies, identifying the most effective ones. Distributed Ledger technologies (such as blockchain) are used for tracking and authenticating data. This allows products to be tracked throughout their lifecycle and collect and share the data needed for better product design, production, sale, use and recovery, supporting circularity. The outcome is the progressive digitization of processes by creating and developing an advanced simulated environment using the Industrial Metaverse in which energy and material flows will be managed in real time.
The end result is a close and effective relationship between the real and simulated worlds which enables faster application of processes and innovations that prove better in the virtual world.
The platform is Open Source software as outlined by the European Commission which promotes the sharing and reuse of software solutions, knowledge and expertise to provide better European services for the benefit of society and reducing costs.
Activity Baseline
Materials & Methods
The textile industry is responsible for about 20% of all global industrial water pollution and 10 % of all global carbon emissions, making it the second largest industrial polluter, second only to oil. Some signs of commitment to sustainability in the sector have been reported, but a full transition from linear to circular economy requires a general reconsideration of business in the textile sector.
One of the measures being considered by the European Commission to address the worrying situation is the introduction of a “digital product passport” to help increase opportunities for reuse and recycling. The rationale behind this plan is that the availability and traceability of data can facilitate the transition to a circular model. Therefore, the digital passport aims to identify and transmit information on product composition and life throughout the supply chain.
This measure can make a relevant difference in two ways:
- Certification rules out greenwashing.
- The lifespan of textile products can increase, generating savings and reducing waste.
Established measures of a product's environmental impact are its carbon footprint and water footprint. These parameters can be calculated based on life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC) and social LCA (S-LCA). All everyday products of any kind generate environmental impacts throughout their life cycle. These products are eventually destined to turn into waste.
To practically capture the data needed to measure circularity, the platform follows the following approach:
The steps to be implemented for the analysis of energy and matter flows with a view to their measurability and digital management are as follows:
GENIUS Project
