Trace product lifecycles privately with DLT
Sector: Secondary sector · Industry: Aerospace industry · Organisation: Airbus, iPoint-systems GmbH, Capgemini Engineering (vormals Altran Germany), CHAINSTEP GmbH, Blockchain Research Lab gGmbH · Maturity level: Pilot
Airbus developed a software demonstrator for circular supply networks together with iPoint-systems, Capgemini Engineering, CHAINSTEP, and the Blockchain Research Lab within the BMBF project DiBiChain. The aircraft component Bionic Partition served as a concrete application scenario for exchanging carbon footprint and recycling information over a prototype DLT application. Supply chain participants were thereby enabled to verify and publish sustainability data without revealing sensitive commercial secrets.
Documentation status
- Project status: Discontinued (as of 30 June 2022) — The DiBiChain collaborative project, funded by the BMBF, was successfully completed as planned after its demonstration in June 2022.
- Evidence: Evidence medium
- Editorial review: pending
Description
Airbus and its project partners developed a DLT-supported software demonstrator for sustainable product cycles in the DiBiChain collaborative project. The solution allows companies in multi-tier value networks to reliably pass on ecological information such as CO2 footprints or recycling data. This creates transparency over the entire lifecycle of a component without revealing confidential trade secrets or supplier structures.
Within the BMBF funding measure ReziProK, the DiBiChain project from July 2019 to June 2022 focused on the digital mapping of closed product cycles. As a realistic scenario, the consortium of Airbus, iPoint-systems, Capgemini Engineering, CHAINSTEP and the Blockchain Research Lab chose an aircraft partition called Bionic Partition. Using a prototype SustainHub application developed by iPoint, supply chain actors could request, record and store CO2 footprints and recycling information on a DLT network. Cryptographic approaches ensured that data remained verifiable while protecting the identities and confidential relationships of the involved partners. The demonstrator proved that DLT provides a viable foundation for protecting trade secrets while maintaining high ecological traceability.
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
B2B partners can securely exchange product-related sustainability proofs and verify the origin of recycled materials. At the same time, competitors or purchasing departments are prevented from reconstructing sensitive supplier relationships via disclosed data paths.
Employees perspective
Employees in quality management and sustainability access automated data flows and save time on complex supplier audits. Standardised data collection reduces sources of error when creating environmental balances.
Benefits
General
- Tamper-proof recording of material and emission figures
- Protection of trade secrets in complex supply networks
- Facilitation of closed loops through transparent recycling information
B2B — organisations
- Reliable evidence for regulatory environmental requirements
- Reduced bilateral coordination effort during inspections
Employees
- Fewer manual data requests at supplier companies
- Faster validation of component information
Challenges
General
- Harmonisation of data formats across various company boundaries
- High integration effort in established industrial IT system landscapes
B2B — organisations
- Willingness of all supply chain levels to actively maintain data
Employees
- Required understanding of cryptographic proof mechanisms
Technology foundation
Distributed Ledger Technology forms the foundation for decentralised data exchange between suppliers and manufacturers. Through cryptographic methods and selective publication, CO2 and recycling figures can be stored tamper-proof without granting direct insight into confidential supply relationships.
Implementation examples
DiBiChain Bionic Partition Demonstrator
For highly complex aircraft components, a reliable mechanism was lacking to disclose CO2 values and recycling potentials across many supply stages without revealing confidential supplier structures.
Airbus provided the real use case of the aircraft component Bionic Partition for the research project DiBiChain. Together with the project partners, the anonymised DLT-based tracking of CO2 and recycling data was tested.
In the BMBF-funded collaborative project DiBiChain, Airbus evaluated the lifecycle of the Bionic Partition together with iPoint-systems, Capgemini Engineering, CHAINSTEP and the Blockchain Research Lab. The partners tested a software solution where suppliers could declare emission values and material data via the iPoint SustainHub platform. These figures were encrypted and anonymised in a DLT network to demonstrate the recyclability of components while simultaneously protecting intellectual property.
The solution overcame existing hurdles in sharing sensitive company data while still enabling a seamless chain of evidence for circular materials.
Tags
Circular economy, Supply chain, Digital product passport, CO2 footprint, Aviation