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  • Chair of Production and Logistics
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Logo of the Insitute of Automotive Management and Industrial Production of the TU Braunschweig
Research
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Research

Forschungsrahmen

Our philosophy

For more than 20 years, AIP has proven research competence in the design, planning, and control of industrial production and logistics systems. Our guiding principle is technology and decision-oriented business administration. Here we model processes and systems according to the problems under consideration. On this basis, we develop decision support models which we apply in industry and politics to derive recommendations for appropriate activities. In interdisciplinary teams, challenging questions are dealt with often directly on site and in practice-oriented manner.

Our research addresses the classic production and logistics management. The spectrum of our research ranges from production, logistics, and supply chain management to environmental protection. Our research is enhanced in the four areas „Energy“ , "Digitization", "Mobility", and "Resources". In these areas, we develop innovative solutions for current problems, derive applicable suggestions for improvement, and support their implementation.

Our research areas

Energy

The production and distribution of physical products usually involve the use of energy. Moreover, the generation, transmission, and storage of energy can be understood as a production and logistics system. Energy occurs in different forms, such as electrical energy, thermal energy, or chemical energy. The energy supply chain begins with the exploration of renewable and non-renewable primary energy sources, which are transformed into secondary energy carriers by means of conversion processes. Distribution includes grid-based transmission through power cables or pipelines, transportation of liquid and gaseous fuels, and (intermediate) storage of energy. Users of final energy comprise the transport sector, private households, trade and services, as well as industry.

Our research activities address strategic, tactical, and operational issues along the entire energy supply chain. They range from the simulation of the energy demand of future mobility systems to the design of distribution networks for novel fuels or energy-oriented lot size planning and scheduling in industrial production processes. The models we develop typically take into account the conflicting objectives of energy supply security, social acceptance, economic efficiency, and environmental sustainability. The findings of our research seek to support managerial and political decision-making.

Bezugsrahmen_ENergie

Selected projects

SUMAFly II Sustainability Modeling and Analysis of Future Aircraft Systems II (focus on the entire aircraft)
SUMAFly Sustainability Modeling and Analysis of Future Aircraft Systems (focus on innovative propulsion concepts)
HyNEAT Development of concepts for the global hydrogen supply infrastructure for hydrogen-based aircraft

Selected publications

Barke, A.; Cistjakov, W.; Steckermeier, D.; Thies, C.; Popien, J.-L.; Michalowski, P.; Melo, S. P.; Cerdas, F.; Herrmann, C.; Krewer, U.; Kwade, A.; Spengler, T. S. (2022) Green batteries for clean skies: Sustainability assessment of lithium-sulfur all-solid-state batteries for electric aircraft, in: Journal of Industrial Ecology, pp. 1–16.
Barke, A.; Bley, T.; Thies, C.; Weckenborg, C.; Spengler, T. S. (2022) Are Sustainable Aviation Fuels a Viable Option for Decarbonizing Air Transport in Europe? An Environmental and Economic Sustainability Assessment, in: Applied Sciences, 12(2), 597.
Schlei-Peters, I.; Wichmann, M. G.; Matthes, I.-G.; Gundlach, F.-W.; Spengler, T. S. (2018) Integrated material flow analysis and process modelling to increase energy and water efficiency of industrial cooling water systems, in: Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 22, pp. 41–54.

Contact persons

  • Dr. Alexander Barke
  • Dr. Imke Joormann
Digitization

One focus of current research on digitization in production and logistics is the development of novel technologies that are physically suitable for use in industrial production or by which a reinforcing effect of the increasing availability and utilization of information can be generated. From a technological perspective, this requires complex engineering and information technology services which are to provide the desired functionality. In addition to questions of the technical feasibility of innovations in the production system, companies in industrial production are interested in evaluating the benefits of their use. Decision-oriented production management can serve as a helpful discipline in this context, in which long-term fundamental decisions about the manufacture of products and services, their concretization, as well as decisions about the economic execution of the manufacturing of products and services are made.

In our research activities, we work on publicly and privately funded projects and follow a three-stage approach. In the first stage, the invention, producing companies need orientation after the invention of new technologies and the proof of their technical feasibility. For this purpose, we develop tools to support the pre-selection of technologies according to the preferences of decision-makers. In the second stage, innovation, the technologies are now to be made applicable. For the evaluation of beneficial use cases, the technical characteristics of the selected technologies have to be considered in detail. To this end, we contribute our expertise in various quantitative disciplines of science. In the third stage, the application is subject to its diffusion after successful implementation. In this stage, implementing companies can be supported by using the data available through the integration of the deployed technologies in the context of an adapted and improved operational planning of downstream problems. The approach we follow is illustrated in the following reference framework.

Reference Framwork Digitization

Selected projects

Synus Methods and tools for the synergic conception and assessment of Industry 4.0-solutions
Recycling 4.0 Digitalisation as key for the Circular Economy for innovative vehicle systems
Digitalization in the Preproduction Center Development of Tools for Production Planning and Control of Assembly and Logistic Processes

Selected publications

Weckenborg, C.; Kieckhäfer, K.; Spengler, T. S.; Bernstein, P. (2020) The Volkswagen Pre-Production Center Applies Operations Research to Optimize Capacity Scheduling, in: INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics, 50 (2), pp. 119–136.
Weckenborg, C.; Kieckhäfer, K.; Müller, C.; Grunewald, M.; Spengler, T. S. (2020) Balancing of assembly lines with collaborative robots, in: Business Research, 13 (1), pp. 93-132.
Müller, C.; Grunewald, M.; Spengler, T. S. (2018) Redundant configuration of robotic assembly lines with stochastic failures, in: International Journal of Production Research, 56 (10), pp. 3662–3682.

Contact persons

  • Dr. Christian Weckenborg
Mobility

Passenger and freight traffic is an essential and necessary component of modern society. At the same time, the transport sector causes about a quarter of the worldwide CO2 emissions and, therefore, needs to contribute significantly to the reduction of emissions and consumptions of fossil resources. It is necessary to include not only economical and technical, but also ecological and social aspects to satisfy expectations on individual mobility and logistics solutions.

Consequently, our research focuses on the planning, design, and control of logistics systems, while considering the factors: technology, market, environment, and society. For instance, we explore the usage of innovative impulsions and the design of the respective value chains for the transportation modes air, road, rail, and water. Here, we have a strong connection to the field of energy and ressource efficiency, which we use to offer decision support to make mobility more sustainable.

Selected projects

STENOS Develop future scenarios to promote the introduction of new emission-reducing technologies in the air transport system.
THEWA Design of hydrogen refueling station networks for sustainable mobility
Zero.50 Efficient pathways towards a climate neutral vehicle fleet in 2050

Selected publications

Ginster, R.; Blömeke, S.; Popien, J.-L.; Scheller, C.; Cerdas, F.; Herrmann, C.; Spengler, T. S. (2024) Circular Battery Production in the EU: Insights from integrating Life Cycle Assessment into System Dynamics Modeling on Recycled Content and Environmental Impacts, in: Journal of Industrial Ecology, 28, pp. 1165–1182.
Talwar, C.; Joormann, I.; Ginster, R; Spengler, T. S. (2023) How much can electric aircraft contribute to reaching the Flightpath 2050 emissions goal? A system dynamics approach for European short haul flights, in: Journal of Air Transport Management, 112, pp. 102455.
Thies, C.; Hüls, C.; Kieckhäfer, K; Wansart, J.; Spengler, T. S. (2022) Project portfolio planning under CO2 fleet emission restrictions in the automotive industry, in: Journal of Industrial Ecology, 26(3), pp. 937-951.
Hansknecht, C.; Joormann, I.; Korn, B.; Morscheck, F.; Stiller, S. (2022) Feeder routing for air-to-air-refueling, in: European Journal of Operational Research, 304(2), pp. 779-796.

Contact persons

  • Dr. Alexander Barke
  • Dr. Imke Joormann
  • Dr. Kerstin Schmidt
  • Raphael Ginster​​​​​​​
Resources

Considering the background of resource scarcity and an increasing resource consumption, the closed-loop circulation of products, materials, and substances is very important for the efficient use of renewable and non-renewable resources. To this end, it is necessary to develop and deploy innovative solutions for the reuse of products or components and for the recovery and recycling of material as a secondary feedstock. Moreover, combining these solutions according to the idea of cascade utilization is of great importance.

Therefore, the research field "Resources" deals with the manifold business challenges that go hand in hand with the objective of sustainable management. From the extraction of raw materials, through production and distribution, to use and subsequent retro-distribution and collection, to recovery or disposal, all life cycle phases are considered, and a wide variety of actors are supported in the decisions to be made. Our research focuses on target dimensions such as environmental compatibility, efficiency, transparency, social acceptance as well as profitability and supply security. For example, current projects aim at the network design and planning of spare parts strategies for an extended product use and optimized cascade use of electr(on)ic products, as well as the development of planning and control approaches for closed-loop supply chains in the automotive industry, which use information from an information marketplace.

Bezugsrahmen Ressourcen en

Selected projects

CircularLIB Research Training Group CircularLIB - Economies of scale in circular battery production
SIMTEGRAL Integrated multi-scale system simulation and sustainability assessment of primary and circular raw material supply chains for lithium-ion batteries
EffizientNutzen Data-based business models for the cascade usage and extended product usage of electr(on)ic products

Selected publications

Ginster, R.; Blömeke, S.; Popien, J.-L.; Scheller, C.; Cerdas, F.; Herrmann, C.; Spengler, T. S. (2024) Circular Battery Production in the EU: Insights from integrating Life Cycle Assessment into System Dynamics Modeling on Recycled Content and Environmental Impacts, in: Journal of Industrial Ecology, 28, pp. 1165–1182.
Scheller, C.; Schmidt, K.; Spengler, T. S. (2023) Effects of network structures on the production planning in closed-loop supply chains – A case study based analysis for lithium-ion batteries in Europe, in: International Journal of Production Economics.
Blömeke, S.; Scheller, C.; Cerdas, F.; Thies, C.; Hachenberger, R.; Gonther, M.; Herrmann, C.; Spengler, T. S. (2022) Material and energy flow analysis for environmental and economic impact assessment of industrial recycling routes for lithium-ion traction batteries, in: Journal of Cleaner Production.
Thies, C.; Kieckhäfer, K.; Spengler, T. S.; Sodhi, M. S. (2019) Operations Research for sustainability assessment of products – A review, in: European Journal of Operational Research, 274 (1), pp. 1–21.

Contact persons

  • Dr. Kerstin Schmidt
  • Raphael Ginster

Our main activities

In numerous research projects we work together with national and international partners from science and industry, often involving public funding institutions such as the German Research Foundation (DFG) and various federal ministries. The aim is to apply challenging theoretical work into the industry. For this purpose, the chair cooperates with companies of various industries and sizes, from local recycling companies to partners from the automotive and steel industries. The results are also reflected in numerous publications in recognized journals. We also contribute to the active operation of various research centers.

Current research projects

Research centers

Completed research projects

Publications

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