Fostering energy efficiency by way of a techno-economic framework

Aiming for a more benign approach to manufacturing, new technological and logistical approaches to energy sensitive production control have been developed. However, practical experience shows that these are or will usually not be implemented due to unclear or conflicting objectives from the technical and the economic side. A prominent example for this is buffers within production systems. While these should be avoided or at least minimised in order to decrease costs and investments, they may allow for the temporary transfer of production equipment into less energy consuming operation states. This paper reports on joint efforts to reduce interface issues by integrating technical and economic decision making into a consistent procedural framework. Exemplary for its potential application, a specific approach to energy sensitive production control, as well as fundamentals for both a technical and an economical evaluation thereof are presented.