Industrial plants can benefit from current technological advances in communication, connectivity, computing and artificial intelligence. For instance, their equipment can be augmented with sensors that are wirelessly connected to a central system that oversees the entire production. Such a system can not only monitor production but also control it, making decisions on its own.
This concept of ‘Industry 4.0’ holds promises and opportunities for the field of sustainable process technology. Process optimization using sensors, connectivity and intelligent control enables more efficient use of energy and resources. The digitization can result in predictive quality, predictive cost, predictive supply and predictive maintenance. It can also enable information sharing across the supply and value chain and across production plants.
At the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology, we aim to accelerate the use of these concepts in industry. Together with industry, we develop applications in research, operations, and maintenance. And we work on capacity building, amongst others by means of learning communities and skills labs.
