Rehau/Germany, 23 November 2023 – Meraxis Services GmbH and REHAU Industries, along with three other partners, have received funding for their ‘CO2ptiMat’ project from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The aim of CO2ptiMat is to develop a digital solution that allows plastics processing companies to determine and optimize the actual carbon footprint of their own production. The funding is part of the GreenTech Innovation Competition. At the launch event in October 2023, Dr. Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMWK, recognized the project and presented certificates to the project partners.
Plastics processors are increasingly required to report and reduce their Product Carbon Footprint. However, most manufacturers don’t have accurate data on the CO2 emissions that are actually generated during the production of their products. They therefore refer to benchmark data and estimates. The new solution is intended to help companies determine their Product Carbon Footprint based on their own data.
“Accurate measurements of emissions are a prerequisite for identifying and visualizing potential improvements in the next step,” says Thomas Poddey, Project Manager for Sustainability & Digitalization at Meraxis Services GmbH and CO2ptiMat Project Manager at Meraxis. “Our digital solution shows how changes to the material composition, the energy mix and other parameters can impact productivity and costs.”
The digital solution will be connected to IT systems used in the production line, in order to collect and analyze all the emissions-related data. Together with its research partners, Meraxis is developing concepts for how this data needs to be merged and evaluated. Meraxis has extensive expertise in the development of digital solutions for the plastics industry. Among other things, the company has developed a digital customer portal and a tool that recommends the optimum material for the required application. The digital tool Co2ptiMat will subsequently be tested and validated under real-life conditions at REHAU Industries. In 2024, existing data points will be specifically added and the system network will be extended. This data input will be used to test CO2ptiMat during edgeband production at the Rehau plant. Daniel Elfe-Degel, Product Manager and Sustainability Officer Interior Solutions, explains what the Interior Solutions Division expects from this: “Additional data points will allow us to accurately record the CO2 emissions of our production. Using the digital solution, we will then be able to create simulations, as well as identify and implement potential savings. In future, all the companies involved in the supply chain will collect their data and make this available. This will be an entirely novel approach to the decarbonization process.”
CO2ptiMat is one of a total of 21 projects that are being funded as part of the BMWK’s GreenTech Innovation competition. The Ministry’s initiative supports digital innovations that will help the economy achieve greater sustainability, along with climate and environmental protection. In addition to Meraxis Services and REHAU Industries, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology, the INC Invention Center on RWTH Aachen Campus and the film producer Terdex are also involved in CO2ptiMat.
The CO2ptiMat project will be funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action for the next three years.
Project website: https://invention-center.de/co2ptimat/
About REHAU Industries
REHAU Industries is the umbrella organization for the Building Solutions, Window Solutions, Interior Solutions (FS) and Industrial Solutions divisions, which act independently in their respective markets, and the cross-division service units REHAU Services & Solutions. More than 12,000 employees at over 150 locations worldwide work together to further improve the way we live through the use of innovative, sustainable technologies for construction, furniture production and industry: Engineering progress. Enhancing lives.
REHAU Industries is part of the global REHAU Group, which specializes in polymer-based solutions. With its more than 20,000 employees, the group generates annual revenue in excess of 4,7 billion euros.
About the Meraxis Group
With a turnover of over 2 billion Euro, the Meraxis Group is one of the world’s leading polymer distributors. As a full-service provider with a global distribution and logistics network, the internationally active distributor, headquartered in Muri near Bern, Switzerland, provides its customers with targeted support for the strategic procurement of plastics: Meraxis supplies companies from all industrial sectors with polymers and polymer-related products for a wide range of production processes – from the automotive industry to the construction sector and packaging companies. Meraxis combines a global partner and supplier network with extensive experience in the development and processing of high-quality polymers, as well as in-depth material and product knowledge.
The Group’s product portfolio includes standard plastics (such as PE, PP, PET, PVC), engineering plastics, masterbatches (color granules) and recyclates. In addition, the company offers specific products (including metal, films, injection molded parts), as well as machines, equipment and tools for various plastic processing techniques.
The full-service provider also works with its customers to develop solutions to promote the sustainable use of polymers and the circular economy. Meraxis sees itself as an active partner for digital transformation in the plastics industry.
About Meraxis Service GmbH
Meraxis Services GmbH based in Rehau is a subsidiary of Meraxis AG and specializes in developing digital solutions that support the sustainable transformation of the polymer industry.
Website: https://www.meraxis-group.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/meraxis-group/
Website: https://www.rehau.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rehau/
