Our experts are pioneers of sustainable manufacturing research and life-cycle engineering. Our mission is to develop products, processes, and systems with a life cycle view while minimizing the environmental impact to stay within the earth’s carrying eco-capacity.
Sustainable manufacturing
We develop methods, digital tools and technologies for the planning and operation of sustainable manufacturing systems and factoriesand their all-relevant subsystems. These are considered as a system of systems to achieve energy, water and resource efficiency while minimising environmental impact. We also develop:
- metering and monitoring techniques, manufacturing systems, factory layout and supporting supply chain activities for improving the energy, water and resource efficiency of manufacturing systems.
- real-time control systems to integrate renewable energy supplies (e.g. Combined Heat Power – CHP) with manufacturing plants, thus achieving grid-free operations.
Life cycle engineering
Life cycle engineering (LCE) is sustainability-oriented product development and manufacturing activities within the scope of one to several product life cycles. Our aim is to develop technologies, methods, tools and techniques for developing product and processes for industrial value creation while minimising resource and energy use, and environmental impact. In order to achieve these, we develop:
- computational and heuristic methodologies that allow designers to consider the entire life of cycle of a product from selecting eco-materials and the energy used in manufacturing of these products. This cycle also includes distributing, collecting, disassembling, and disposing. We also develop methodologies for life-cycle economic and environmental evaluation of future product technologies.
- quantitative sustainability assessment methodologies and carry out carbon and water footprint assessments by using Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing and Material Flow Cost Accounting.
Circular economy (CE), industrial symbiosis (IS) & system of systems (SoS)
We design, develop, and analyze complex systems to optimize energy, water and material use, to minimise environmental impact and avoid problem shifting. We have pioneered the circular economy, industrial symbiosis, and closed-loop systems research in Australia since late 1990s. Our work involves:
- developing solutions for enabling circular economy strategies with a system of system perspective from product to industrial systems level.
- developing new technologies, methods, tools, and techniques for designing symbiotic industrial systems, product collections networks, product service systems, maintenance, disassembly, reuse, remanufacture and recycle. Our key mission is to minimise environmental impact, resource and energy use, and waste generation.
