Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IMLICT-Biochain - Efficient biomass supply chains through digital technologies
The ICT-Biochain project researched the use of digital technologies to optimize biomass supply chains. The aim was to develop a platform that informs users from the forestry and agricultural sectors about modern information and communication technologies (ICT) and provides them with biomass data from specific regions.
Project objective
Biomass forms the basis for sustainable chemical production and renewable energies. The ICT-Biochain project pursued the goal of creating digital innovation centers for biomass value chains. By using ICT, IoT and Industry 4.0 technologies, processes along the biomass supply chain were to be made more efficient and sustainable.
Solution approach
The project established two digital innovation centers for biomass in Andalusia and southeast Ireland. These regions served as testing grounds for digital technologies that were integrated into existing biomass supply chains.
The platform developed combined state-of-the-art ICT solutions with biomass data and offered companies the opportunity to find out about the latest technological developments. Important components were
- Metadata model for biomass and ICT data
- Prototype of a digital platform for data integration
- Requirements analysis and evaluation of existing tools
Services in the project
The solutions developed enabled better transparency and optimization of biomass supply chains. The most important project results include
- Analysis and modeling of supply chains
- Creation of a software architecture for digital biomass data
- Optimization of resource availability through IoT and data analysis
- Mockups and evaluation of digital tools for biomass processes
Practical solutions for the future
By using ICT technologies, companies along the biomass value chain were able to optimize their processes, use resources more efficiently and better implement sustainability goals. The platform developed serves as the basis for future digital applications in the bioeconomy.