News
Research project successfully completed!
In a world of limited resources, the circular economy is becoming a key competitive factor. To address this development in good time, the CliCE-DiPP research project (Climate-neutral Circular Economy enabled by Digital Product Pass), funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, was launched in 2023; (clice-dipp.de) initiated. In this project, water meter specialist Lorenz GmbH & Co.KG worked alongside Software Factory GmbH (SF) and other partners to create a seamless digital representation of the entire product life cycle. The result is a prototype of a digital product passport, which will be mandatory under EU regulations from February 2027, initially for battery manufacturers.
The vision: an ID for every component
The aim of CliCE-DiPP was to develop an infrastructure for the Digital Product Passport (DPP). Using water meters as an example, the project demonstrates how each individual device – down to the individual unit – is assigned its own digital identity. This passport accompanies the meter from production through to use and on to refurbishment, recycling or disposal.
Technological basis: The administration shell (AAS)
At the heart of the solution lies the concept of the Asset Administration Shell (AAS), standardised in accordance with IEC 63278:2923. The Eclipse BaSyx reference implementation was chosen as the technical framework.
- Standardisation: Through the work of the Industrial Digital Twin Association e.V. (ITDA), sub-models such as the „Digital Nameplate“ and the „Carbon Footprint“ are being standardised.
- Extensibility: Software Factory GmbH integrates the Circular Economy sub-model developed specifically for this project, which fills in gaps in data on recyclability without contravening existing standards.
The role of Software Factory GmbH: building bridges between the shop floor and IT
As an expert in industrial software solutions, the subcontractor Software Factory GmbH played a crucial role in implementing the technical infrastructure.
-
Integration with the production control system (PCS)
As part of the project, SF implemented the (theoretical) connection directly to the source: the PLS at Lorenz GmbH & Co. KG. As soon as a water meter is completed or packed, the system automatically generates the individual DPP. This means that real production data flows directly into the digital product passport without any manual effort.
-
No-code energy data collection
One of the highlights of the work carried out as part of the project was the structured collection of energy data (electricity, compressed air). To this end, SF implemented a solution at Lorenz GmbH which:
- Data is recorded at a workstation. However, the concept can in principle be extended to collect data from the entire site right down to individual production workstations.
- Based exclusively on standard solutions available on the market.
- It requires absolutely no custom programming, which makes it much easier for the customer to maintain.
-
Interoperability within the ecosystem
A product passport is only valuable if it is shared. Working together with the partners involved, we were able to ensure that the DPP works across organisations:
- API-First: IT systems can retrieve and update data in a machine-readable format (e.g. adjusting the carbon footprint during the operational phase).
- Human-readable: The data is available to users at any time as a web view or PDF.
Conclusion: Sustainability through transparency
Thanks to the CliCE-DiPP research project and the expertise of Software Factory GmbH, the Digital Product Passport has evolved in this project from a theoretical EU requirement into a powerful tool that genuinely enables complete transparency. Thanks to the successful collaboration between all research partners, the infrastructure has been established that enables other companies not only to sell their products, but also to manage them within a sustainable cycle.
You can find more information about the DPP here: https://www.sf.com/digitaler-produktpass/