Advancing Sustainability and Circularity in the Automotive Industry: A Data-Driven Platform Approach

In the complex and rapidly evolving landscape of the automotive industry, sustainability and circularity are becoming increasingly crucial. However, the shift towards a Circular Economy (CE) is hindered by a multitude of barriers, especially by the limited collaboration between actors in the automotive value chain. A key challenge involves bridging the significant gap between Beginning-of-Life (BoL) and End-of-Life (EoL) actors in term of information sharing. The lack of open data exchange prevents, from one side, the optimization of End-of-Life Vehicle management processes, and from the other one, the enhancement of design practices oriented towards an easier disassembly and recycling of vehicles. Even in case data are available to decision-makers, their comprehension and elaboration process is not efficiently performed. To address these critical issues, an innovative web-based multi-layered data-driven platform has been developed, specifically designed to foster the communication and exchange of valuable and most of the time confidential information and knowledge along the automotive value chain. Integrating state-of-the-art analytics, tools, and user-friendly interfaces, the platform manages complex and disperse data and transforms them into actionable insights, facilitating informed decision-making and supporting the implementation of enhanced sustainable and circularity practices. This paper is meant to depict i. the software architecture, which follows a data-driven approach to guide the automotive sector transformation into a networked environment; and ii. the different software modules of the platform, highlighting their data requirements and interactional model. The initial validation of the platform has been conducted through a comprehensive survey within the automotive industry. Stakeholders' feedback on the platform's usability, functionality, and effectiveness in enhancing sustainability and circularity have been gathered and provided insights for further refinement. The development of the platform, thanks to its strategically designed architecture and functionalities, marks a significant step forward in the field of data management and decision-making in automotive sector. The validation results underscore the platform's potential as an indispensable tool to influence sustainable and circularity practices across the automotive value chain.