Study and configuration of a Data Space in Manufacturing enabling Circular Economy through Components Reuse

In recent years, there has been an increase in e-waste, caused not only by the emergence of new technologies and therefore the fast replacement of obsolete devices, but also by poor communication between the various supply chains. Inserted in the context of the CIRC-UITS project, the aim is to ensure that data is exchanged securely between the different companies and stakeholders involved in the value chain to promote the reduction and reuse of e-waste. This thesis is an integral part of this project where the focus is to improve the circular economy in the mass electronics and automotive sectors by recovering and reusing materials from electronic components. The proposed thesis will present the development of two components, the data space and a mobile application. Introduced by the European Commission, the concept of data space is essential to strengthen the data economy by enabling secure data exchange and interoperability between economic actors. The data space was designed to manage and store critical information about materials and components, while the application allows an operator specialized in electronic components recycling, through a guided procedure, to easily access these data to optimize the recovery and reuse process. The operator, through the use of the developed application, is guided through the process of requesting and using data related to a specific component. In terms of data space, several current solutions were found, and tests were performed on important components of the data space to determine which current implementation would be the best to use as a guide. The final goal was to create a customized component based on the specific use case. The first step in addressing the challenges of secure data transmission between organizations was to identify implementation solutions and analyze the underlying architectures. The second step involved testing the identified solutions to understand which one best aligned with the project’s context. The test results allowed the identification of a solution that could be further developed and provided a clear indication for the next phase of development. Following the study of the state of the art, through the use of the MoSCoW method the main requirements necessary for a correct development of the mentioned components were identified. Throughout the development process, industry best practices were followed, including the planning, development and in-depth testing phases to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the solution. End users have tested the developed components to make sure it works well and is applicable in real word situations. Users were able to offer input on usability and overall performance throughout these phases of testing.