From Insight to Impact: Accelerating Sustainable Materials Innovation
How do we unlock the potential of materials for a low-carbon future? Turn insights into real-world solutions with a digital platform advantage.
Today, metals, cement, batteries, glass, plastics and more are used in almost every major industry, making up about 20%1 of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the rate that we are going with man-made materials, the weight of our impact could exceed three teratons by 2040 — tripling the weight of all living things on Earth2.
At the heart of this crisis lies the vital concept of ensuring the new, sustainable materials we develop today are environmentally safe and reduce waste and carbon emissions. Watch this short video to learn how new materials can impact change.
Emerging technologies, such as the virtual twin, rapidly transform new material innovation. Read our ebook to learn how simulation with the virtual twin is key to overcoming challenges and empowering future material innovation.
Simulations for Sustainability
Discover how materials scientists are combining virtual and physical experiments for low-carbon chemistry.
Overcome Material Innovation Challenges
Understanding the finest details of materials and their behavior encompassing molecular to macroscopic view is pivotal in the circular economy path to:
Develop materials that use fewer raw materials, generate less waste and minimize environmental impact throughout the lifecycle.
Design products for durability and reusability with modularity and standardized components that facilitate disassembly and reassembly, easier reuse or remanufacturing.
Biomimicry and bio-based materials can replace traditional non-renewable resources to decarbonize effectively.
Cutting-edge technologies enable on-demand production, optimize material usage and facilitate localized production.
Share knowledge seamlessly among stakeholders to drive material science innovation and adopt sustainable materials for a systemic change toward a circular economy.
These insights, however, are futile with siloed operations.
Instead, a unified platform with advanced tools and simulation capabilities is needed to connect and optimize multidisciplinary processes and perform complicated tests such as strength, flexibility, heat resistance and chemical reactivity of materials. Working on a unified platform quickly reduces lengthy and expensive processes, navigates complex regulations and policies with agility, and minimizes resource consumption in physical prototyping and lab testing.
Maximize the Virtual Twin's Role in Material Innovation
Based on scientifically accurate 3D models, companies can run molecular simulations to predict how the material properties will behave throughout the entire value network when assembled, operated and recycled. The virtual twin creates a flexible space to perform virtual experiments, run multiple simulations of what-ifs scenarios and produce only the most sustainable option, saving cost and time
Simulation powered by Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE® platform helps companies to:
- Create powerful digital mockups to support the formulation and reformulation of materials
- Facilitate creative innovation with research and experiments from the subatomic level up to develop low-carbon materials and secure material compliance
- Connect actionable insights into the underlying physics and chemistry of the materials — quickly, economically and precisely
Some companies have achieved the following benefits:
90%
less materials used in product development with accurate inventory management
Zero
product recalls related to formulation non-compliance
40%
increase in lab testing
50% to 66%
reduction in project duration
Material Waste Reduction and Beyond
Modeling and simulation improve waste disposal by screening and simulating the effects of stress, temperatures and chemical reactivity during disposal to decarbonize effectively. Simulation allows the evaluation of the materials' effectiveness and efficiency for their intended use to reduce waste and maximize reuse.
Another essential waste reduction strategy is using catalysts at scale, such as zeolites. Plastics currently account for 44% of all packaging. Zeolite catalysts convert waste plastics3 into fuel oil through pyrolysis. In another example, a zeolite catalyst can separate and filter materials when recycling EV car batteries with minimal energy4.
As in silico trials gain ground, many future materials and their application can be defined accurately early in the development stage, resulting in materials science breakthroughs as follows:
Nippon Shokubai
Nippon Shokubai combined computational methods with laboratory analysis to discover more efficient catalysts and electrolytes for faster and more efficient product development.
Ardagh Group
Coatings interaction and efficacy with the surface glass simulated with the virtual twin helped Ardagh Group to reduce raw materials and energy used.
Amcor
Simulation in design helped Amcor reduce the weight of hot-fill beverage bottles by 35% to 50%.
Other breakthrough innovations, including additive manufacturing, sustainable chemistry practices and precision extraction of geological assets, are gaining traction on the sustainability agenda. By harnessing the potential of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, you can confidently shape the right sustainable practices for a low-carbon future.
Explore our Solutions
1Source: “McKinsey & Co” by Michel Van Hoey
2Source: “Weizmann Institute of science” by Drew Kann
3Source: “ACS Publications” by D.P.Serrano, J.Aguado, and J.M.Escola
4Source: “Circular Innovation For A More Sustainable Future Video” by Dassault Systèmes
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