Challenges
Many companies face the challenge of finding sustainable and efficient solutions in complex sectors. This applies in particular to projects involving a large number of stakeholders and processes, such as those in the timber value chain. The timber value chain comprises stakeholders such as forest owners, forestry cooperatives, foresters, loggers, transport companies, sawmills and furniture factories. Their processes range from sustainable forest management and timber harvesting, through logistics and storage, to the processing and production of timber products. Innovative approaches are needed here to link data intelligently and integrate the various systems with one another.
The ‘Forest and Timber 4.0’ data room
A key project in which Materna is involved is developing the ‘Forest and Timber 4.0’ data room. A data room is a digital platform that enables data to be exchanged securely and efficiently between different stakeholders. In this case, the ‘Forest and Timber 4.0’ data room refers to a specialised platform for the timber value chain. It helps to facilitate and optimise collaboration and data exchange between different stakeholders, create transparency and accelerate processes. This improves efficiency and sustainability throughout the entire process chain. “The consortium, led by us, Materna, comprises partners from industry, public administration and academia. Together, we can develop innovative solutions and thus improve the timber value chain,” explains project manager Dr Ingo Lück. He explains Materna’s role in more detail: “In addition to our project management responsibilities, we are working alongside our project partners on the architecture and implementation of the data room’s underlying technology, the process-based networking of digital twins via the data room, the development of AI algorithms to calculate CO₂-optimised routes for timber lorries, and the design of business models.”
By modelling and implementing standardised green digital twins and processes, data from various sources is linked, enabling transparent and efficient tracking of timber and timber-processing operations. People are integrated into these systems via intuitive user interfaces, which promotes close collaboration between humans and machines. This enables foresters, loggers and staff at timber-processing companies to work together efficiently. For example, modern harvesters used for timber harvesting and sawmills for further processing can seamlessly exchange data via digital systems as part of integrated processes. Furthermore, artificial intelligence (AI) is being utilised to optimise timber processing and make it more sustainable. One example of this is AI-supported log recognition, which could, in the long term, become an alternative to traditional marking methods. It improves the accuracy and efficiency of timber processing, whilst at the same time eliminating the need for external markers. A specific use case is the recognition of logs based on individual characteristics such as growth rings. For example, a camera in the harvester head captures high-resolution images that can be used to uniquely identify the logs. Alternatively, other modern marking methods can be used, such as labelling the log sections or the harvester attaching RFID tags directly during felling. The ability to identify log sections is crucial for seamless traceability, which is relevant, amongst other things, to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Another aim of the project is to reduce CO₂ emissions. Through the use of digital twins and simulation techniques, emissions can be calculated and optimised even before planned measures are implemented. Optimisation is achieved by simulating and analysing various scenarios. For example, different transport routes and methods, the use of energy-efficient machinery and the adaptation of processing procedures in sawmills can be compared in terms of their CO₂ emissions. Based on the results, the most efficient and environmentally friendly methods can be selected and implemented. This contributes significantly to reducing the ecological footprint and supports sustainable practices. Harvesting technology is also becoming more efficient through digital processes: harvesters already measure the diameter and length of logs whilst in the forest and transmit the data in real time. This enables orders to be processed with pinpoint accuracy – without any manual intermediate steps.
A key objective of the project is to track the carbon footprint throughout the entire processing chain: from the CO₂ stored in the tree, through emissions during harvesting, to transport to the sawmills. Project analyses show that only around 1.5 to 5 per cent of the stored CO₂ is released during harvesting and transport to regional sawmills – the majority remains sequestered. Further processing into durable products such as furniture ensures long-term storage. As most emissions arise during transport, European timber sourced from nearby locations offers a clear climate benefit.
Initiatives
The principles of the European Gaia-X initiative, which promotes open, federated, trustworthy and secure data spaces, are also being implemented. In the ‘Forest and Timber 4.0’ project data space, data providers and users can transfer their data directly without relying on cloud providers. This enables efficient and secure collaboration between different stakeholders and supports sustainable processes.
The CO2For-IT research project is an innovative initiative aimed at reducing CO₂ emissions in the forestry and timber industry and promoting sustainable practices. It brings together various stakeholders from academia, industry and forestry to develop digital technologies for optimising networks. These technologies make it possible to optimise processes from production to utilisation in line with sustainability principles.
