Materials INnovative TEchnologies Assessment (MIN-TEA)

Research Project, 2019 – 2021

As our natural resources are limited, we as a society must transition to a more sustainable economic system. Technology is a key part in this. Currently, however, many technologies are developed without already optimizing their environmental performance and resource efficiency during the design stage, which leads to suboptimal technologies, and in the mid-term to competitive disadvantages. One main reason for this is that performing prospective environmental assessment is still a time-consuming expert task.

The objective of the MIN-TEA project is to reduce the effort involved in such analyses through a blended learning package that breaks down the complex theory of technology forecasting into practical guidance and teaches participants how to apply this knowledge to analyse early stage technologies using a software tool that streamlines prospective environ-mental assessments and enables quick screening possibilities.

This will lead to more capacity on this important topic, more prospective analyses to identify environmental hotspots, and, ultimately, more resource-efficient technologies.