FKZ 3726 31 702 0 - Umweltwirkungen digitaler Infrastruktur - Bilanzgrenzen und Prognosen

TENDER DESCRIPTION

ReFoPlan 2026: "Environmental Impacts of Digital Infrastructure - System Boundaries and Forecasts" The expansion of digital infrastructure - data centers, networks, clouds, edge computing, end devices and increasingly specialized AI hardware - causes significant environmental impacts along the entire value chain. These impacts include energy consumption, raw material requirements, water consumption, land use, emissions, as well as toxicological effects. So far, these have not only been methodologically inadequately captured, but there is also a lack of a harmonized, life cycle-based assessment framework that is scientifically reliable and allows for political recommendations. Contradictions in system boundaries, indicators, and data sources complicate comparisons and limit the political usability of the results. The planned research project aims to address this gap - through a holistic, cross-system consideration of digital infrastructures along their entire life cycle, a discussion of existing approaches, as well as recommendations on methodology and data situation. The development of scenarios shall enable forecasts until 2035 of the environmental impacts of digital…

TENDER BRIEF

TENDER DOCUMENTS