DARMSTADT, Germany, Apr 23, 2025 – In the future, the EU will require a digital product passport (DPP) for a large number of products. The DDP provides information about the components, materials and substances used in a product and how the product can be repaired, recycled and disposed of. PROSTEP does not only support the creation of DDPs but, as part of the Decide4ECO project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWiK), has also developed an AI-based chatbot that makes this information available more quickly. At Hanover Trade Fair in Hanover, Germany, PROSTEP demonstrated how easy it is to find information in the DPP using the chatbot.
Many companies will in the future be facing the challenge of using their numerous different data sources to generate a transparent digital product passport that is always up-to-date. This is because, from 2027 onwards, the EU Ecodesign Regulation will require them to record, manage and, if necessary, share with partners information on materials and substances, carbon footprints, resources used and the recyclability for certain groups of products, as well as operating instructions, product identification and proof of origin.
“The DPP is not only intended as a tool that regulatory authorities can use to monitor the market. It should also be possible, for example, for manufacturers to use it for sustainability reporting, retailers for marketing purposes, repair shops for making repairs or for recycling, and consumers for making purchase decisions”, says Rainer Zeifang, Head of the Business Unit Software Development and AI Evangelist at PROSTEP. “Access to the DDP must therefore be as easy and flexible as possible and also support different views of the digital twin.”
Experience shows that the information required to create the DPP is stored in different IT systems. Collecting this information and keeping it up to date manually would be far too time-consuming. This is why PROSTEP uses its digital thread platform, which incorporates the time-tested solutions OpenCLM for cross-domain data linking and OpenPDM for PLM integration, for the automated generation of the DPP. OpenPDM ensures access to information in the most widely used PLM, ALM and ERP systems and other enterprise applications using standardized connectors.
The technical foundation for creating the DPP and exchanging relevant information is the so-called Asset Administration Shell (AAS). It describes the digital twin or the DPP in a standardized format that allows all partners in the value chain to use the information and to supplement it with their own data. PROSTEP’s new EDC connector can be used to make this data available in a Gaia-X-compliant manner in trusted data ecosystems such as Catena-X or Manufacturing-X.
PROSTEP has integrated a chatbot into the solution to make it as easy as possible for different user groups to access the information in the DPP. It allows users to search for information using natural language, to aggregate it and, for example, to compare the CO2 footprint of different products. The chatbot uses generative AI methods, as we know them from ChatGPT, to access the information.
About PROSTEP Inc.
PROSTEP Inc., the fastest growing PLM solutions, systems integration, and migration consultant in the North American region for the discrete manufacturing industry, is the wholly-owned subsidiary of leading global parent company PROSTEP AG.
Located in the US automotive industry hub, Troy, MI, PROSTEP provides PLM solutions across industries including Automotive, Aerospace, Shipbuilding, and other manufacturing.
For more information about PROSTEP Inc., visit https://prostep.us.
About PROSTEP Group
PROSTEP Group is recognized as a partner to the leading manufacturing companies worldwide. We count the top companies in this industry among our customers. PROSTEP is an independent consulting and solution development company, but also supplies ready-made product solutions. Our strength lies in a combination of industry-specific expertise, process know-how and technological competence. We offer our customers competent consultancy services, a comprehensive range of other services, and innovative solutions covering every aspect of product lifecycle management (PLM) and application lifecycle management (ALM).
The PROSTEP Group has a current headcount of more than 300 in Germany, Poland and the USA. In addition to its headquarters in Darmstadt, PROSTEP also maintains branch offices in Berlin, Boeblingen, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Munich, Wolfsburg, as well as in Wrocław (Poland), Troy, Michigan (USA) and its subsidiary BHC in Boeblingen.
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