Improving the research and knowledge transfer as a means to improve energy efficiency in production – the German approach Effizienzfabrik

摘要

As a means to promote the development of innovative energyandresource-efficient production technologies, the GermanFederal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launcheda programme1 funding over 31 joint research projects withmore than 65 m Euros in 2009. Each of the funded projectsaims to develop new, holistic solutions for industrial productionwhich can substantially improve energy efficiency. The purposeof these solutions is to ensure and foster the competitivenessas well as the technological top position of German industry.However, in order to reap the fruits of these efficient solutions,it is necessary that they are spread and adopted by industry.As a flanking measure to the 31 research projects, the BMBFand the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) thereforelaunched a joint initiative called the Effizienzfabrik, the InnovationPlatform for Resource Efficiency in Production. The initiativehas three objectives: (1) to disseminate information aboutrecent trends and developments in research on energy- andresource-efficient production technologies, (2) to facilitate thedissemination of the project results by publications, events andweb-based tools and finally, (3) to create a living network ofstakeholders from industry, academia and the public.In this paper, we discuss the approaches developed for andimplemented in the Effizienzfabrik. This includes a presenta-1. Programme "Resource efficiency in production" within the framework programme"Forschung für die Produktion von morgen".tion of the methodological background, a review of the varioustools and services provided to the public and a discussion oflessons learned during the Effizienzfabrik initiative. This informationmay serve as a basis for launching similar programmesin other countries or contexts.