From traditional production to tomorrow's digital value creation.

As a think tank focused on the future of value creation and production, the experts at the New Production Institute are engaged in various projects examining the transformation of value creation systems against the backdrop of new opportunities for connectivity and production in the era of digital transformation.

Values of the Future

Open Production

Openness as
a design principle

We are exploring how openness as a principle can be applied to real-world production and value creation processes—from the factory floor to digital tools.

Open Source

Collaboration as
a value-creation strategy

Open-source approaches challenge traditional notions of ownership and establish collective value creation as an alternative production paradigm.

Open Mind

Interdisciplinarity as a principle of knowledge

We conduct research at the intersection of engineering, design, and the social sciences—as part of international consortia and professional networks.

Research

An Overview of Our Research Areas

The concept of value creation forms the cornerstone of our interdisciplinary research. Since 2010, we have been dedicated to the theoretical analysis and practical investigation of value creation systems, guided by the ongoing transformation of industrial, digital, and societal conditions.

AI Applications in Digital Manufacturing

The use of artificial intelligence throughout the entire value chain—from product development through manufacturing and use to reuse and circular systems—is being explored in order to integrate digital technologies into production processes in an efficient, flexible, and sustainable manner.

Open Source Hardware

Research focuses on the development of digital open-source machine tools to integrate local production, global connectivity, and new forms of value creation. Engineering and design information is made openly available, while the technical, organizational, and societal conditions necessary for sustainable implementation are examined.

Circular Economy

The research examines the practical implementation of the circular economy in urban areas. Key research areas include urban production models, closed-loop material cycles, sustainable product design, and the promotion of bottom-up value creation in local and global contexts.

Sustainable Innovation

The research analyzes sustainable innovation processes that integrate environmental, social, and economic aspects. The focus is on collaborative approaches that enable new forms of value creation and highlight opportunities for transformation at both the local and global levels.

Sustainable Manufacturing

Industrial production processes are evaluated for environmental responsibility and resource conservation throughout the entire product lifecycle, with a focus on local manufacturing, resource-efficient technologies, and the development of sustainable value chains.

Commons-Based Peer Production

The research focuses on open, collaborative production processes in which knowledge, resources, and value are generated collectively. Open labs and open-source hardware serve as locally rooted and globally connected spaces for innovation.

Communities

Local and online communities are analyzed to promote participatory and inclusive forms of value creation. The goal is to systematically integrate social participation, cooperation, and collective knowledge into production and innovation processes.

Publications

Value creation, open production, and sustainable innovation processes are at the heart of our research. Our publications demonstrate how locally rooted and globally networked forms of production—from Fab Cities and microfactories to open-source machine tools—contribute to the transformation of value creation systems, and what theoretical, methodological, and practical perspectives emerge from this. Since 2010, we have been sharing these insights in journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters—to foster a networked and collaborative approach to production.

Team.

The New Production Institute team consists of over 30 members from various academic disciplines. These range from mechanical engineering and manufacturing technology to design and value creation theory, knowledge and social economics, participatory research, economic geography, and law.