AI for a more sustainable and circular EU Manufacturing and Process Industry
Manufacturing companies are continuously facing the challenge of redesigning and adjusting their manufacturing systems to adapt their process to produce goods adapted to specific requirements and produced under the minimum required production rate, guaranteeing high quality and limiting the use of resources in order to reduce production costs. Therefore, reducing waste, scraps and defects, as well as production costs is crucial to increase productivity. In this context and the digital era, Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a decisive role in the automation of a production line. AI in manufacturing may include a set of services for data integration and fusion, data analytics and data distribution, execution of AI workloads even at the edge, towards the monitoring of a variety of activities including resource monitoring and management, workload assignment, smart alerting, predictive failure and model (re)training. Digital twins enable the full digitisation of a manufacturing process and provide simulation and modeling capabilities.By harnessing the vast amounts of data available from industrial machinery operations, AI assists not only in monitoring, but also in predicting, optimizing, and improving every aspect of a machine’s life cycle. Leveraging the vast reservoirs of big data, AI models deliver enhanced decision-making, proficient machine operation, and refined operational strategies. Finally, predictive algorithms allow forecasting capabilities of machinery malfunctions, ensuring a drastic reduction in downtime and safeguarding against expensive operational halts.
AIDEAS– AI for Machinery Industry
AIDEAS is a Horizon Europe project aimed at fortifying Europe’s historic stronghold in machinery manufacturing by leveraging advanced AI technologies. Currently, the machinery industry employs around 3.2 million people in Europe, standing as a beacon for growth and employment. Despite its significance, maintaining a technological edge in this fiercely competitive sector is paramount. AIDEAS seeks to address this by providing AI-powered solutions to support the complete lifecycle of industrial equipment— from design and manufacturing to usage and the repair-reuse-recycle phases.
s-x-AIPI – AI for process industry
The s-X-AIPI project is a 3-year Horizon Europe-funded project that aims to develop and test a novel autonomic AI toolset for the transformation of the European process industry. The solutions explored will involve the formulation of a novel architecture, AI data pipeline, and realistic datasets derived from four real-world demo cases. These will be combined with an autonomic manager based on the MAPE-K model (continuous monitoring, analyzing, planning, and execution flow based on the knowledge of the AI system under control) for developing self-improving AI systems. The ultimate goal of these applications is to optimize human involvement in the loop of creating and maintaining AI applications for industrial use, while exhibiting self-improving (self-X) capabilities. With a far-reaching impact on the position of the European process industry, the project aims to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and resources used, as well as to accelerate the digital transition of the process industry and manufacturing sectors.
Circular TwAIn – AI for Circular Manufacturing
The main aim of the Circular TwAIn project is to develop and experiment an ecosystem of AI-enabled Digital Twins, aimed at supporting the transition of EU Manufacturing Industry towards a more sustainable and circular manufacturing (as part of Industry 5.0). In particular, the End of Life of products (e.g. Car batteries, WEEE and Petrochemical Wastes) is considered with specific focus on de- re-manufacturing processes and how they affect Data Spaces for Manufacturing and Digital Product Passport ecosystems.
Proposed Agenda
- 5 minutes session introduction
- 15 minutes on behalf of AIDEAS “AI in machinery industry and AIDEAS project.”: Grigoris Tzionis and Georgia Apostolou Centre for Research and Technology Hellas – Information Technologies Institute, Senior Researchers,
- 15 minutes on behalf of Circular TwAIn “The role of AI in Circular Manufacturing networks, focusing on electric cars’ Batteries de- and re-manufacturing”: Sergio Gusmeroli (Politecnico di Milano), Davide Dalle Carbonare (Engineering Ingegneria Informatica)
- 15 minutes on behalf of s-x-AIPI “AI in process industry and s-x-AIPI project”: Daniel Gómez (Industrial and Digital Systems Division – CARTIF Technology Center), Aníbal Reñones, Head of Unit of Industry 4.0 Area at the Industrial and Digital Systems Division (CARTIF Technology Center)
- 10 minutes discussion and closing remarks
Each project may suggest one related project
- AIDEAS, linked to i4Q
- CIRCULAR TWAIN, linked to CIRPASS (Digital Europe preparatopry action for DPPs) and DACAPO (Made in Europe Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action on digital technologies for Circularity)
- s-x-AIPI linked to CAPRI (Processes4Planet Horizon Europe Innovation Action)
