Completed Research Projects

Deep Dive
Fab City
Hamburg

This Is How the Future Is Shaped

's Future Takes Shape

Fab City Hamburg collaborates with universities and partners that combine research with practical implementation. This leads to projects that bring open-source approaches and digital manufacturing to the city. Discover here which projects have already made a significant contribution to Hamburg’s circular future.

Completed
Research Projects

Fab City OS (2021–2023)

A digital infrastructure that connects Fab Cities and Fab Regions: This is the Fab City Operating System, or Fab City OS for short. Here, designers and developers can share the design data for their products, which can then be adapted to local needs in other locations and manufactured on site.

Fab City Index

How do you measure the progress of a Fab City or Fab Region toward a comprehensive circular economy? The Fab City Index is an effort to provide a tool for measuring this progress—using publicly available data.

Open Lab Starter Kit (2021–2025)

Until now, digital fabrication machines have been expensive, proprietary industrial products. The eight-part Open Lab Starter Kit was developed to make it easier for developers, designers, and makers to acquire such machines. All of the machines are open-source hardware, and their designs are freely available.

Pop-Up Circular Hub (2024–2025)

From April 2024 to April 2025, Fab City Hamburg e.V., together with partners, operated the Pop-Up Circular Hub (PUCH) in “Jupiter,” the former Karstadt Sports building on Mönckebergstraße. The PUCH served as a hub for circular economy activities in Hamburg and offered workshops, panel discussions, exhibitions, consulting services, and a coworking space.

Digital Infrastructure

Fab City OS (2021–2023)

Imagine you need an espresso machine that’s simple and reliable in design and can be repaired. Instead of buying it from traditional online retailers, you go to the Fab City platform: There you’ll find a model developed by a maker in Barcelona and improved by a designer in Curitiba. You read through the product description and select a manufacturer who will build and deliver the machine to your Fab City within a week—along with a Digital Product Passport (DPP) that summarizes all the information about the machine.

That is the vision of the Fab City Operating System, or Fab City OS for short. The first version was developed as part of the INTERFACER project (2021–2023). In the long term, it is intended to support the growing Fab City ecosystem throughout the design and manufacturing cycles and help users select sustainable, circular products.

The Fab City OS integrates various tools and technologies to facilitate collaborative design, local production, and circular practices. Designed to be modular and customizable, the system enables every Fab City, every Fab Lab, and like-minded organizations to adapt it to their specific needs. In turn, it enables users to connect their designs, products, or services and interact with others, both locally and globally. This networking fosters a vibrant community of innovation-minded individuals who can share knowledge, resources, and expertise.

Whether a local maker is collaborating with a global designer or a community project is seeking input from international experts, the platform provides the tools and infrastructure that make Fab City OS possible.

One of the platform’s standout features is the creation of digital product passports (DPPs). These DPPs serve as verifiable records that track every significant event and transaction throughout a product’s lifecycle. From the design phase through manufacturing, distribution, and use, the DPP documents resources, locations, contributions, and other relevant data points. By utilizing blockchain technology, the DPP ensures that this information is immutable and verifiable.

This makes it possible to determine: Who designed a product, and who further developed it? What materials were used in its manufacture? Has it ever been repaired? It is precisely this information that is missing from the vast majority of today’s products, which has so far led to a waste of resources and a lack of accountability. The Fab City OS changes that.

Another feature of this system is its support for fair and equitable compensation for developers and designers. It is designed to ensure that all contributors are fairly compensated for their efforts. The Digital Product Passport also records who made what contributions and at what stage. The goal is to encourage and promote innovation in circular products.

Fab City OS is a collection of various open-source software solutions divided into the “Fab City OS Suite” and the “Fab City OS Core” network. Using the Fab City OS Installer, the Fab City OS software can be hosted locally to enable Fab Cities to achieve a high degree of digital sovereignty.

The platform is currently being further developed by the consortium partners, the Dyne Foundation and HSU, to integrate digital product passports and make the platform more user-friendly.

For more information:

White Paper: https://www.interfacerproject.eu/assets/news/whitepaper/IF-WhitePaper_DigitalInfrastructureForFabCities.pdf

Beta version: https://interfacerproject.dyne.org

Technical Documentation: https://github.com/interfacerproject

Measurable Progress

Fab City Index

Producing, repairing, and recycling almost everything locally: Today’s Fab Cities are still a long way from realizing this vision. In today’s globalized world, they import numerous goods and often export their waste, primarily to the Global South. For this to change, we need information about what can already be manufactured and recycled locally or regionally.

In 2018, the Paris-based agency Utopies presented an initial concept for conducting such an assessment and thereby measuring the progress of a Fab City in the future: the Fab City Index. It is intended to document how circular and sufficient a Fab City’s economy is. The catch: The methodology is not publicly available and cannot be applied by Fab Cities on their own.

As part of the INTERFACER project (2021–2023), Fab City Hamburg e.V. has therefore developed an alternative concept that uses publicly available data—and can, in principle, be applied anywhere.

To find out what is already being produced in a Fab City, one would ideally need to know how many sneakers, washing machines, T-shirts, and numerous other products are manufactured annually within the city limits, and how many are still being imported. This data is not yet available.

The Hamburg Fab City Index uses publicly available data on production and consumption. While the volume of production in individual economic sectors is statistically tracked annually, the consumption patterns of Hamburg residents can be roughly estimated using consumer surveys conducted by the Statistical Office for Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. By comparing these two figures for selected product groups, it becomes clear what proportion of consumption could theoretically already be produced in Hamburg. To this end, the data was grouped into 16 macro-sectors and presented as colored bars on a scale from 0 to 100 percent. 100 percent means that Hamburg can fully meet the demand in this macro-sector through its own production.

For 2019—the last fiscal year not affected by the pandemic—the situation in Hamburg was as follows:

The Fab City Index Toolkit allows the data to be recalculated annually, thereby highlighting progress toward a circular economy. Target: Ideally, all macro-sectors will reach 90 percent by 2054—an ambitious goal.

The index not only shows the public where Hamburg currently stands, but also provides decision-makers with insights into which macro-sectors are particularly well-suited for incentives to boost local production.

It is important to note that the available data is still rough at this stage. Digital product passports and associated databases could, in the medium term, refine the analysis from macro-sectors to individual product groups.

For more information:

Documentation for the Hamburg Fab City Index: https://gitlab.fabcity.hamburg/software/fab-city-index-hamburg

Book chapter on the project: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-44114-2_9

Machines for Everyone

Open Lab Starter Kit (2021–2025)

Machine tools are also known as the “ .” The development of the machine tool has changed the world and is at the root of the industrial revolutions of the past centuries—nearly all industrial goods are manufactured using machine tools.

Until now, purchasing equipment such as 3D printers or laser cutters has often posed a significant financial hurdle for open workshops, inventors, and startups, as they typically have to rely on established manufacturers. On top of that, there’s a second hurdle: repairs. Commercial devices are often proprietary “black boxes” without documented designs, making them nearly impossible to maintain or repair on one’s own.

This is where the Open Lab Starter Kit (OLSK) comes in. It was jointly developed by InMachines Ingrassia GmbH and the Manufacturing Technology Laboratory at Helmut Schmidt University to make digital manufacturing accessible to everyone.

Every OLSK machine tool is designed and prototyped so that the complete kit can be replicated anywhere. The goal is local production without exporting parts—instead, knowledge is shared as open data via open-access GitHub repositories, in keeping with the Fab City vision.

A modular, open product architecture enables the production of custom-made parts—regardless of which tools are available on-site, such as a CNC milling machine or an industrial jet cutter. Standardized (off-the-shelf) components are selected so that they are readily available locally and interchangeable.

Technical documentation is also key: Intuitive design files, parts lists, and assembly manuals should enable users not only to operate the machine, but also to maintain, repair, replicate, and modify it. The IKEA assembly instructions—which have stood the test of time for decades and are easy for laypeople to understand—serve as the benchmark here.

Workshops were a central part of the OLSK development process: Participants learned directly from the developers how to assemble, operate, maintain, and repair the machines. At the same time, their feedback was continuously incorporated into the further development of the technical documentation, improving the assembly and user experience.

The OLSK machines are still research prototypes. In the long term, they are intended to become open-source machines comparable to standard, proprietary equipment on the market. However, this will require further steps, such as certification, improved usability, and easier access to replacement parts. The potential of the Open Lab Starter Kit lies less in competing as a commercial product. The focus is on democratizing digital manufacturing: enabling as many people as possible worldwide to access computer-controlled machine tools.

Machines included in the Open Lab Starter Kit:

Desktop 3D printers (min. 20 x 20 x 25 cm – max. 40 x 40 x 40 cm)
Desktop CNC Milling Machine (max. 600x400x100 mm)
Desktop Laser Cutter (600 x 400 mm)
Large 3D Printer (1000 x 1000 x 1000 mm)
Large-format CNC milling machine (2500 x 1250 x 300 mm)
Large Laser Cutter (1000 x 700 mm)
Vinyl Cutting Plotter (A3 Size)
3D Scanner

For more information:

Website: https://www.inmachines.net/open-lab-starter-kit

Documentation: https://github.com/Open-Lab-Starter-Kit

Community Participation

Pop-Up Circular Hub (2024–2025)

Building a comprehensive circular economy in Hamburg will only succeed with broad participation from the city’s residents and the business community. The vacancy rates in downtown Hamburg—particularly on Mönckebergstraße—also highlight just how urgently new approaches are needed.

Against this backdrop, the former Karstadt Sports building—which was converted into the “Jupiter” creative hub in 2022—was used as a platform for circular economy stakeholders. In collaboration with the consortium partners, the Pop-up Circular Hub was established there in April, covering an area of approximately 400 square meters.

The public had the opportunity to visit an exhibition on the principles of the circular economy and participate in events, such as upcycling T-shirts or creatively repurposing electronic waste. The monthly Circular Talks, which were live-streamed, brought together various stakeholders from Hamburg’s circular economy scene and addressed topics such as circular textile production, recycling, refurbishing household appliances, and circular product design.

The New Production Institute at Helmut Schmidt University operated an open “microfactory”: In addition to small-batch production for research purposes, visitors could watch the makers at work—in the spirit of a “transparent factory.” The Hamburg Institute for Innovation, Climate Protection, and Circular Economy set up a “Circular Office,” where recycled or refurbished office furniture was not only on display but also used as a coworking space.

In addition, the Pop-up Circular Hub hosted numerous stakeholder and expert workshops organized by Senate agencies, companies, and universities.

In May 2025, the Pop-up Circular Hub had to close because the temporary use of the building came to an end. However, its twelve months of operation demonstrated just how valuable a public hub with hands-on activities is for the development of a circular economy. Fab City Hamburg e.V. is therefore planning the next step together with its partners: a Circular Center for Hamburg that will expand and sustain the activities of the Pop-up Circular Hub.

Project Partners

Hamburg Institute for Innovation, Climate Protection, and the Circular Economy (HiiCCE)
HiiCCE is a research institute affiliated with the Hamburg University of Technology and a subsidiary of Stadtreinigung Hamburg. It develops comprehensive solutions for climate protection, the circular economy, and resource management, and conducts research on various topics related to the circular economy.

Fab City Hamburg e. V.
Since June 2019, Hamburg has been the first German city to join the global Fab Cities Alliance. The goal is to transform the urban economy into a digitally supported circular economy in which (almost) everything consumed in the city can be produced locally. To institutionalize this initiative, Fab City Hamburg e. V. was founded in 2020 with funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Innovation. The association promotes the Fab City concept, supports its implementation, and documents progress.

New Production Institute
The New Production Institute emerged from the interdisciplinary research group “Value Creation Systems” at the Manufacturing Technology Laboratory of Helmut Schmidt University. As a think tank for the future of value creation and production, it investigates the transformation of value creation systems in the context of digital connectivity and new production possibilities. The focus is on operationalizing openness in new value creation models (including open innovation, open design, open production, and open source).

Senate Chancellery, European Policy Division
The European Policy Division of the Senate Chancellery handles matters related to European law and EU funding programs. It coordinates EU projects focusing on the circular economy, mobility, and climate adaptation.

HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU)
HCU is a university specializing in the built environment, bringing together design, engineering, natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Its overarching research priorities are climate/sustainability and digitalization; it is also involved, among other things, in the development of the national circular economy strategy.

Research & Projects

Fab City Hamburg collaborates with partners who combine research with practical implementation. This leads to projects that bring open approaches and sustainable value creation to the city.

New Production Institute

The New Production Institute (NPI) conducts research on how production and value creation might function in the future. The focus is on open and networked approaches such as open innovation and open source—and their practical application.

The NPI was established at Helmut Schmidt University (HSU) in Hamburg and is a founding member of Fab City Hamburg e.V. As part of the local academic and business community, HSU is a co-initiator of several projects, including “Interfacer” (2021–2023), the “Fab City Project” (2021–2026), and “Lauds Factories” (2024–2026).

Research & Projects

HIWW

The Hamburg Institute for Value Creation Systems and Knowledge Management (HIWW) supports organizations in building sustainable and open value creation. It combines university research with practical implementation and works in an interdisciplinary manner with a network to develop appropriate solutions in innovation, production, and knowledge management.

The HIWW is collaborating with Fab City Hamburg on the “Interfacer” and “Lauds Factories” projects. In doing so, the institute contributes its experience in research and technology transfer to the projects.