Feature Topics

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important criterion in product and system development. Environmentally friendly manufacturing in global supply chains means adapting technologies, using suitable benchmarks and framework conditions. Durable, reliable products contribute to ensuring that limited resources are used efficiently.  For example, LEDs are a key technology in efficient lighting, but require adjusted cooling concepts to secure long lifetime.  Using microelectronics, resources can be saved in many different areas and it is here that green IT puts its shoulder to the wheel.  When implemented correctly, information technology can make an important contribution to resource efficiency. Autarkic sensor networks improve the productivity of industrial manufacturing processes. In medical engineering, we are developing technologies that directly benefit people. For power electronics, we work on energy-efficient system solutions.
Assessing a technology’s environmental friendliness requires analyzing a product’s lifecycle using suitable methods and parameters. Depending on the task at hand, innovation and technology analyses, green accounting, the product’s carbon footprint and the indicators of resource consumption and toxicity may be employed.