The Central Department of Technology-Induced Material Flows (ZTS), which was founded in 1999 as part of the Institute for Technical Chemistry (ITC), was integrated into the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis on 15 February 2008. It is headed by Prof. Dr. Liselotte Schebek, who also holds the Chair of Industrial Materials Cycles at the IWAR Institute at the Technische Universität Darmstadt. The integration of the research work of ZTS into the research areas of ITAS will be completed by September 2012; the organizational unit ZTS will then be dismantled.
The Central Department of Technology-Induced Material Flows of the Institute of Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS-ZTS) focuses its research on human-caused, so-called anthropogenic material flows more. The specific research profile results from the conceptual mission to sustainably support technology design and is characterized by the anthropogenic material flows that are "induced by technology", i.e.:
- explaining the relation between technical processes and the material flows they cause;
- identifying potentials for efficiency and substitution as a contribution to decision support and a sustainability strategy.
The research work is based on the methods of systems analysis and the corresponding instruments. These methods and instruments are applied in different levels of analyses and fields of technology and are being further developed with regard to specific applications more. According to the mission of the Helmholtz Association, the Department of Technology-Induced Material Flows does not only conduct own research projects but is also involved in establishing the scientific infrastructure for the research area of anthropogenic material flows and is participating, among others, in the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative which promotes Life Cycle Thinking and the application of Life Cycle Assessment in science and economy on an international level.
