CTAG: Designing for Sustainability and Circularity
WP1: Technical and Environmental Sustainability Performance Requirements
In Task 1.2, they (along with CRF, MAIP Compounding, and Turkish Aerospace Industries) helped identify the requirements and feasibility of injection molding for the new material selection for Use Case 1 (UC1). For that purpose, they developed a literature review on the materials used for UC1 and their corresponding differences compared to the material they aim to substitute.
In Task 1.3, they are divided into two complementary parts supporting the assessment made by Fraunhofer. First, CTAG (alongside FRA) is analyzing potential end-of-life (EOL) routes, including reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, disposal, etc., considering ecodesign concepts, reuse and recycling costs, and the value chain of reused and recycled materials. This analysis will follow a questionnaire prepared by Fraunhofer to collect all necessary information. Then, with the help of DLR, they will investigate how to maximize resource efficiency (using Fundacion Bcmaterials and AKSA’s resource efficiency data) and provide an overview of the weight-related implications of using recycled materials and their processes in structural components.
Through these two subtasks, they aim to deliver key insights on EOL, ecodesign, and the impacts of recycling on structural performance and resource efficiency.
WP2: Circular Design for Sustainability
In WP2, they are leading Task 2.3: Circular Design and Multi-Parameter Optimization of the Use Cases. This task, starting in April 2025, involves applying the Circular Design Strategy developed in Task 2.1, in which University of Northumbria at Newcastle and CTAG defined design metrics to be implemented.
The task will focus on developing components and subsystems for the six Use Cases that are part of BIOntier, with the goal of optimizing the environmental impact of the new designs by integrating environmental criteria from the early stages of design.
WP7: Life-Cycle, End-of-Life, and Sustainability Assessment
Although their activities in this work package have just begun, they previously contributed to Task 7.1 (due to the advantage of co-developing tools with Fraunhofer) by helping organize a workshop and preparing the initial Data Collection Sheets (DCS) with Etelätär Innovation. Their main involvement now focuses on Task 7.3 and the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) study of all Use Cases. They have developed a DCS with the objective of gathering all necessary information regarding materials, energy, manufacturing techniques, etc., which will be obtained through individual meetings with the partners. From the project perspective, they will use this information to calculate and analyze the economic impact and cost of the new BIOntier model compared to the previous benchmark and to complement the environmental analysis performed by Fraunhofer in Task 7.2.