Environmental Chemistry and Engineering

The global challenge climate change calls for answers beyond the pure optimization of resources and energy consumption in manufacturing - a major CO₂ causer. CO₂ as a supply for new synthetic raw materials and products as well as markets is a new long-term approach to establish a green cycle economy. We define green cycles as CO₂ sinks. The Siemens green cycle vision for green production and green raw materials as displayed in Figure 1 opens new manufacturing models and new product markets to provide an answer for the world’s hunger for materials. These materials have a promising future for non-food related components such as electronic parts. Green cycle factories apply the concept of green cycles to the discrete manufacturing industries. The prerequisites are renewable energy and chemistry production technologies, which are synthesizing fuels and materials for manufacturing from CO₂ sources. The world has to focus on renewable supplies, which fulfill the demands of future manufacturing technologies in terms of additive manufacturing processes that are then mainly using carbon materials. Our new findings can help to contribute to a greener future as carbon-based materials come from renewable, biodegradable resources. The transformation process requires new competitive manufacturing systems in a decentralized and digitalized manner. An additive manufacturing process based on this carbon feedstock is one promising application field with the advantage to transfer the carbon load into discrete products. Hence, low carbon in the atmosphere can be realized by green cycles and advanced carbon-based materials and manufacturing.