PALETTEN-SERVICE Hamburg: Making logistics more sustainable

The challenge

Whether on container ships, in lorry logistics or in the storage of goods - millions of wooden pallets are used worldwide every day. Even though wood is a renewable and ecological raw material, there is still a lot of room for optimisation in the production of individual components. In particular, the processing of glue rich in harmful substances and steel nails with a high CO2 footprint have a negative impact on the ecological balance of a pallet. The focus of PALETTEN-SERVICE Hamburg's question in the Cross Innovation Class was therefore to rethink the processing of wooden pallets and optimise their recyclable preparation.

Output

The result is the CircularPalett - a wooden pallet that is truly recyclable. An ecologically compatible replacement was found for the conventional glue, which often contains harmful substances such as formaldehyde. Even steel nails, which are produced at great energy expense, are no longer needed, as the boards and blocks are held together by wooden pins in a plug-in system. The entire product is therefore unmixed and can be recycled particularly effectively at the end of its life.

In addition to the potential of collaborative innovation processes, this case also shows that the expectations of different stakeholders sometimes diverge. In this particular case, the process was characterised by a tension between design aspirations and close-to-market feasibility. The result was a prototype that, although it originally fulfilled the required sustainability criteria, was not ready for series production due to its design. The ideas developed during the process were followed up within the company following the format. What we have learnt is that interdisciplinary innovation is always full of challenges - and with the CircularPalett, we have a prototype that nevertheless impressively demonstrates what is possible with cross innovation.

Students: Tjark Dondera ,Florian Weckbecker, Marlena Dinger, Despina Locht, Lilith Arwen Hofmann, Noah Wandres, Samantha Schubert, Yu Joung Kim

Participating universities:

• Wedel University of Applied Sciences (IT Engineering and Computer Engineering)
• Hamburg Academy of Fashion & Design (product design)
• Leuphana University of Lüneburg (Environmental Sciences)

Format & method

In the Cross Innovation Class, students from three to six different universities work in interdisciplinary teams on the challenges of the project partners.

• The process follows the logic of design thinking: in iterative feedback loops with the partners, the teams approach a solution step by step.
• The entire process is managed by the Cross Innovation Hub team and supported by trained facilitators.
• Prototypes can be created and tested in the workshops of the partner universities.

The Cross Innovation Class took place in the summer semester 2023 on the topic of Circular Cities.