2025 IEDC critical mass sprint

2025 is the year when we move the industrial ecology data commons prototype, launched in 2018, into a functional and helpful data archiving and retrieval tool for the entire industrial ecology community!

With the help of the IEF team and the CIRCOMOD EU Horizon project colleagues (https://circomod.eu/), we plan to collect, format, and upload a larger number of datasets on product material composition, energy intensity, and lifetimes of products, focussing on products and commodities including appliances, buildings, vehicles, infrastructure, industrial assets, and energy system technologies. Newly available data on circular economy measures and material criticality will be included as well. To be able to quickly find relevant data, we will expand and improve the IEDC’s search interfaces.

Critical mass sprint goal: By the end of 2025, the IEDC contains enough product and material-related data that searching the IEDC becomes a useful screening step and first iteration for data collection for MFA and LCA researchers and consultants alike. With its focus on products and commodities, the IEDC could even become a useful starting point for building the foreground of LCA product systems, next to serving socio-metabolic and industrial ecology research in general.

Access the database via https://www.database.industrialecology.uni-freiburg.de/

What are we looking for? The IEDC contains table-based data on socio-economic metabolism, grouped into datasets with a size of 1 to about 50000 values per dataset. Objects (products, materials) and processes in a given system are quantified at different layers (items, mass, energy, monetary, …), either at scale or per unit. More than 30 data types in eight data categories have been defined so far (see the data type scheme for an overview). In particular, our plan is to expand the IEDC with data of the following types:

• Flow (1_F_) by material
• Flow (1_F_) by product/commodity
• In-use stock (2_IUS_) by material
• In-use stock (2_IUS_) by product/commodity
• Population (2_P_) by country/region
• Lifetime (3_LT_) by product/commodity
• Material composition (3_MC_) by material
• Material composition (3_MC_) by product/commodity
• Specific energy consumption of products (3_EI_) by product/commodity
• Sector splits and other shares (3_SHA_) by chemical element
• Yield coefficient (4_PY_) by product/manufacturing process
• Yield coefficient (4_PY_) by material
• Process extension (4_PE_) by process
• Unit process inventory (4_UPI_) by process
• Criticality indicators (6_CR) by chemical element
• Criticality indicators (6_CR) by material

Why should I contribute? Submitting your data to the IEDC is free advertisement for your research and data! Most datasets are searchable by the name of the first author of the corresponding publication. Submitting your data to the IEDC increases the visibility of your research, and it helps others build on your work in their own research. A strong community database increases the visibility of the entire field and leads to better research output via the use of more comprehensive and up to date data. If you cannot or don’t want to share your data via the IEDC, it’s still possible to just submit an entry to the data catalogue, so that your data can be found and then obtained via other channels. This procedure also applies to datasets that are too large to be inserted into the IEDC or that are already consistently formatted in other data formats. Last but not least, using common data formats for the different data types and consistent labels for the different materials, products, etc. helps with the reuse and sharing of data across projects and research groups.

How can I contribute? In order to submit data to the IEDC, follow these steps:

• Check whether you have the necessary rights to share these data publicly. If yes, reach out to the IEDC team via in4mation*aet*indecol.uni-freiburg.de to check if your data are suitable for the IEDC.
• Identify what type your data belong to. See the list of data types and browse for and download examples from the main search interface (by entering the type into the search field: 1_F, 3_MC, etc.)
• Format your data into an IEDC data template, using the sample templates and following the instructions in the video tutorial provided on the validation page. When formatting your data to the IEDC format, please make an effort to use labels for materials, products, regions, etc. that are already defined in one of the IEDC classifications listed on the classification page. In particular, wherever possible with reasonable effort, please use the following classifications: 1 (chemical_elements) for chemical elements, 2 (regions_iso_iedc) for countries, 3 (time (list of years)), 14 (time_ranges (list of different time ranges)) for time, 4 (generic_materials_waste) for materials, 6 (broad_industry_groups) for processes, 7 (general_product_categories) for commodities and products, 10 (general_energy_carries) for different types of energy, 20 (LCI_data_layers) for indicating the layer of measurement in the ‘layer’ aspect, and 8 (basic_scenario_alternatives) for indicating different scenarios.
• New labels can be requested by listing them on an open Google Table. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jn-6MwT4HIWZL8eVAUu-1TN3ZemjlTN3tMCP3Jd9GCk/edit?usp=sharing See columns C-H on sheet ‘New_IEDC_Labels’.
• Run your templates through the validator and correct the description (step 1) and labels (step 2) according to the automatic feedback provided.
• Contact the IEDC team via in4mation*aet*indecol.uni-freiburg.de if your template is validated to upload the data.

On May 19th, 2025, a public webinar marked the start of the IEDC Critical Mass Sprint 2025. It was not recorded, as there are already several tutorial videos and other material available, see the links above.

How is it going? By August 2025, the first ca. 20 datasets were uploaded as part of the 2025 Critical Mass Sprint:

3_SHA_End_Use_Shares_USA_Streeck_2023
6_URB_CityBlocks_Sample_Freiburg_Germany_McShane_2025
3_LT_Plastics_Buildings_Germany_Schmidt_et_al_2025
3_LT_Electricity_System_Technologies_Victoria_et_al_2020
3_MC_Wooden_Multipurpose_Building_Buschbeck_2025
4_PY_Manufacturing_Allwood_2024
3_SHA_EndUseShares_Steel_Aluminium_Allwood_2025
3_MC_Buildings_UK_Variability_DAI_2025
1_F_Final_Metal_Demand_Watari_2020
3_LT_Cobalt_Products_GODOY-LEON_2020
4_SHR_Cobalt_Products_End_Uses_GODOY-LEON_2020
4_PY_Cobalt_Manufacturing_Recycling_GODOY-LEON_2020
3_MC_Buildings_Austria_Renovation_Maintenance_Lederer_2021
3_MC_Buildings_EU_Renovation_Maintenance_Damgaard_2022
1_F_Function_FreightTransp_History_EUROSTAT
1_F_Function_PassTransp_History_EUROSTAT
3_MC_Wind_Turbines_Godoy_Leon_2025
3_MC_Wind_Turbines_Carrara_2020
3_MC_Wind_Turbines_Farina_Anctil_2020

In January 2026, another batch of datasets was uploaded to the IEDC:

4_PC_Investment_Costs_Building_Renovations_EU_2019
5_PP_buildings_EoL_mgmt_costs_and_labor_requirements_CARO_2024
1_F_Neodymium_Global_Qiance_LIU_2022
1_F_Lithium_and_Cobalt_Ore_Extraction_Refining_TAN_2024
3_EI_Batteries_Manufacturing_DEGEN_2023
3_EI_Electrolyzer_Operation_SOUVERAEN
3_MC_BuildingArchetypes_West_Asia_North_Africa_AKIN_2025
3_MC_Buildings_Infrastructure_Japan_OKUOKA_2018
6_MIP_Gini_Energy_Expenditure_Country_WANG_2025
6_PCS_residential_floorspace_ELLSWORTH_KREBS_2020
6_PCS_Decent_Living_Standards_Gap_STREECK_2025
2_IUS_Vehicles_JRC_IDEES_2018
2_IUS_Vehicles_EAFO_2024
6_IMI_MaterialFootprints_Decent_Living_Standards_VELEZ_2023
6_PCS_Indirect_Decent_Living_Standards_VELEZ_2023
6_PCS_UsePhase_Direct_Decent_Living_Standards_VELEZ_2023
6_IMI_EnvFootprints_Decent_Living_Standards_Countries_VELEZ_2026
6_IMI_EnvFootprints_DLS_Selected_Countries_VELEZ_2026
6_IMI_EnvFootprints_DLS_Gap_Selected_Countries_VELEZ_2026
2_IUS_Residential_Buildings_Nigeria_CHRYSOGONUS_NWAGWU_2024
1_F_FinalEnergy_Residential_Buildings_Nigeria_CHRYSOGONUS_NWAGWU_2024
4_SHR_Steel_Use_by_Sector_WorldSteel_2026
1_F_Electric_Passenger_Vehices_EU_2023_MAI
1_F_Electric_Passenger_Vehices_China_2023_MAI
3_PUP_Battery_Capacity_Electric_Passenger_Vehices_EU_2023_MAI
3_PUP_Battery_Capacity_Electric_Passenger_Vehices_China_2023_MAI
3_MC_Global_3051_Buildings_Database_LIU_2025
6_PCS_buildings_floorspace_MA_2025
3_LC_LorenzCurves_MaterialStocks_Global_WATARI_2021
6_MIP_Gini_MaterialStocks_Global_WATARI_2021
3_SHA_China_Sand_Gravel_Sources_MFA_1978_2050_Scenario_REN
1_F_China_Sand_Gravel_MFA_2050_Scenario_REN
3_LT_China_Sand_Gravel_MFA_1950_2020_REN
3_MC_Electric_Passenger_Vehicles_Europe_HSU_2024

1_F_Watari_2025_SteelSankeys_30Regions
1_F_Economy_wide_MFA_EU28_2014_MAYER
1_F_Economy_wide_MFA_Global_EU27_2005_HAAS
1_F_Sand_Gravel_MFA_Global_184Countries_ZHUANG_2025
1_LCF_Final_Energy_Buildings_Vehicles_Global_PAULIUK_2024
2_LCS_In_use_stock_Buildings_Vehicles_Global_PAULIUK_2024

6_MIP_Gini_Archaeological_Residential_Area_Pacific_Northwest_AMES_2020
6_MIP_Gini_Final_Energy_Footprint_86_Countries_OSWALD_2020
3_LC_LorenzCurves_Final_Energy_Footprint_Global_OSWALD_2020
6_MIP_Gini_Final_Energy_Global_2050_Scenarios_MILLWARD_HOPKINS_2022
6_PCF_Final_Energy_Decile_2050_Scenarios_Global_MILLWARD_HOPKINS_2022
6_MIP_Gini_Final_Energy_EU_Countries_KASHOUR_2023
6_MIP_Gini_Archaeological_Floorspace_Global_ORTMAN_2024
3_LC_LorenzCurves_Residential_Electricity_5_Countries_JACOBSEN_2005
6_MIP_Gini_Household_CO2_Footprint_China_WANG_2022
1_F_production_flows_technology_materials_SOUVERAEN
1_F_production_flows_renewable_energy_components_SOUVERAEN
4_SHR_Country_Shares_in_Renewable_Energy_Components_Production_SOUVERAEN
5_CAP_Renewable_Energy_Technology_Manufacturing_Capacity_byCountry_SOUVERAEN
6_MIP_Gini_Material_Footprint_Global_2017_by_Consumpion_Category_TIAN_2026
6_MIP_Gini_Material_Footprint_Global_2017_by_Global_Region_TIAN_2026
6_MIP_Gini_Material_Footprint_Global_2017_168_Countries_TIAN_2026
3_LC_Material_Footprint_Global_2017_by_Material_Group_TIAN_2026
6_MIP_per_capita_Material_Footprint_Global_2017_by_Decile_TIAN_2026
6_MIP_Socio_Metabolic_Inequality_Collection_Product_Stock_Flow_Service_Indicators
6_MIP_Socio_Metabolic_Inequality_Collection_Material_Indicators
6_MIP_Socio_Metabolic_Inequality_Collection_Energy_Indicators
6_MIP_Socio_Metabolic_Inequality_Collection_Land_Use_Ownership_Indicators
6_MIP_Socio_Metabolic_Inequality_Collection_Water_Indicators
6_MIP_Socio_Metabolic_Inequality_Collection_GHG_Emissions_Indicators
3_MC_Heat_Pumps_GREENING_SEVINDIK_2021
6_IMI_Final_Energy_Global_Mining_Sector_IEA_ARAMENDIA_2023
6_MIP_CED_Primary_and_Final_Energy_Demand_59_Materials_ARAMENDIA_2023
4_PY_EoL_Recycling_Rates_59_Materials_ARAMENDIA_2023
6_MIP_EROI_Energy_Return_on_Investment_Fossil_Fuel_Compilation_HALL_2014

A final round of uploads in the late winter will conclude the IEDC Critical Mass Sprint.

On top of that, several new classifications were created and existing ones updated.

Access the database via https://www.database.industrialecology.uni-freiburg.de/

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