FOKUS:SE - Researcher Network Service Engineering

Services are highly relevant to the economy and the society. The market success and quality of services depend on their concept and design. The DFG-sponsered research network "FOKUS:SE" connects different German research institutions, which are doing theoretical and practical research on service engineering.

End-Of-Life Solutions for eCar-Batteries – Development of Product-Service-Systems and Information Systems for Decision Support

An immature battery technology appears to be a crucial obstacle to impede a quick diffusion of electric mobility in Germany. One core factor are the high initial costs of traction batteries. To improve the total cost of ownership an electric vehicle, depleted batteries could be repurposed after their automotive use. Depending on the technical properties of a battery, different second-life scenarios can be realized (e.g., to propel smaller vehicles or to store green energy in stationary applications). The EOL-IS project's goal is the development of services (e.g., pay-per-use business models, engineering services, maintenance services, refurbishment) for the second-life of eCar batteries that can be offered with the battery as a product-service system. Based on the chemical and technical features of individual batteries, the battery's use history, and its condition, a custom-fit product-service system is configured in order to enable the re-use of the battery.

Perceptible Integration of Products and Services as necessary for the requirements-oriented Coordination of Product Service System Networks

In product service system networks manufacturers and service organizations collaborate for providing customers with individualized solutions. Cooperation Experience focuses on developing a methodology that allows to conceptualize these networks, with a special focus on the required coordination between the participating actors’ tasks. With this method and a supporting test environment, the collaboration between the actors is visualized and the impacts and requirements for inter-organizational information flows and document exchanges are explicated. For supporting the application of the method, reference contents are generated and integrated into the supporting prototypical tools. Within this project, the University of Muenster is responsible for the design and implementation of these software prototypes.

End-Of-Life Solutions for eCar-Batteries – Development of Product-Service-Systems and Information Systems for Decision Support

The EOL-IS project’s goal is the development of service innovations for the phase after the eCar batteries’ EOL, based on the chemical and technical features of eCar batteries. A further object is to find the best Second-Life concept for each single battery as well as to conduct the application concept with accurately fitting hybrid bundles of services (HLB). Thereby the physical and chemical features and the battery’s history of usage, its condition and further economic, ecological and judicial information will be considered, as well.