SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT | 24 SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT | 25 Technology perspective What  e atest technology tren at i mpact sustainability? Steve Evans, Director of Research in Michael de Volder, Head of the IfM Dr Jagjit Singh Srai, Director of Research, Alexandra Brintrup, Professor in Digital Industrial Sustainability Nanomanufacturing Group and Head, Centre for International Manufacturing and Head of the Supply “The first answer is that the most important focus “My current research focuses on the development of ManufacturingChain AI Lab: should be to rapidly improve what we are doing today Li-ion and other battery technologies that are likely to “Long-term technological trends show that advanced “Whilst sustainability needs to be first and foremost without buying new technology. This message shouldn’t play a very important role in climate-change mitigation, manufacturing technologies can create innovative about a cultural shift into being comfortable with be mistaken as anti-technology; it just highlights that for instance by powering electric vehicles and storing product designs by utilising new production methods. ‘less’, technological advances help this process. Within organisations will get value from reviewing how existing renewable energy sources. This holds great promise in terms of resource eciency. manufacturing significant advances are being made technology can support meeting their sustainability These advanced manufacturing technologies often with battery technology, alternative energy sources, goals. I’ve seen so many examples where organisations Technology trends that will impact sustainability in this involve less aggressive processing, making them both circular materials and production processes – and AI. develop knowledge through this focus, making field are two-fold. On the one hand, we need to move energy- and material-ecient. Other technologies that Our lab’s research aims to understand and improve them more prepared and eective in selecting new away from battery chemistries that are unsustainable. cover a broad spectrum of digital tools, such as AI, supply chains through the use of AI. Supply chains form technology solutions.Classic examples of this are the development of blockchain and others, will enable us to gain visibility both the backbone of the global economy and, at the battery cathodes containing very little or no cobalt, into demand and supply in our supply chain, allowing us same time, typically represent the largest environmental “Organisations should also focus on current technology and electrolytes that do not contain any perfluorinated to synchronise them more eectively. This, in turn, helps footprint of a manufacturing company. The most spending plans to ensure that each purchase is as additives. On the other hand, the manufacturing us to minimise waste and meet demand in the most promising advances we have made so far include Digital energy/water/material ecient as possible (and/or that processes for batteries are often energy-intensive and ecient manner.”Supply Chain Surveillance and Autonomous Systems. it allows for improvement in the future). Most of your rely on toxic solvents. Exciting new technological trends The first includes combining vast datasets from VAT, future environmental footprint is decided by existing in this area include dry processing methods that do not Dr Srai has extensive experience leading large-scale shipment, satellite imagery, and the web to train technology, so make sure that eciency is a key require solvents and energy-intensive drying steps. complex research projects comprising multiple stakeholders machine learning algorithms to predict the existence of selection criterion so you make choices you are happy Finally, recycling of batteries is being studied across industry, academia and public bodies. His research actors involved in a supply chain and their sustainability to live with in the future. In terms of a trend that aligns more rigorously, which is critical to ensuring that centre brings an engineering and strategic operations behaviours so that action can be taken to nudge them. management perspective to the design, analysis and with this, the best place to focus is data innovation – it batteries become a more sustainable technology for operation of international supply chains and the impact of The second area involves equipping a virtual replica oers the biggest sustainability improvement for the electrification.”advanced production and digital technologies. Through of a supply chain product or process. By automating least cost, and technologies that support sustainability major collaborations with industry (individual firms and planning, we alleviate the need for manual processes data insights are rapidly evolving.”Michael de Volder leads the IfM’s Nanomanufacturing consortia), primarily in the healthcare and food/FMCG and allow everyone to share resulting gains so they can Group, which focuses on developing scalable processes sectors, his research findings have directly underpinned major be incentivised.” Steve Evans leads the IfM’s Sustainability Association. to arrange nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes organisational change. The association produced the “Sustainable Innovation: and graphene into well-defined superstructures. These Prof. Alexandra Brintrup is Professor in Digital Manufacturing Quick Wins in Sustainable Manufacturing” report, may find application in sensors, electronics, catalysis, at the Institute for Manufacturing, where she leads the which recommends how organisations can improve energy storage, water purification and smart materials.Supply Chain AI Lab. Prof. Brintrup was the first researcher to empirically study large-scale supply chains as complex sustainability performance quickly without investing adaptive networks, examine their emergent properties, and heavily in new technologies. take a data-driven perspective to characterise their resilience, which led to understanding of universal patterns that govern supply chains.