K.U.N.S.T.

Knowledge for Unpacking Novel Sustainable Technologies*

^*^{We called our project K.U.N.S.T. as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the German words “Kunst” (art) and “Kunstoff” (plastic). The backronym? Let’s just say... it’s more recyclable than official!}

Goal

We aim to investigate the barriers to large-scale adoption of seaweed-based packaging in the food sector, particularly in comparison to traditional plastic packaging.

The project includes identifying the factors influencing packaging choices by food retailers and consumers via behavioural experiments and consumer behaviour surveys, whether their awareness of the environmental impact affects their choices, and the policy's role in fostering the seaweed-based packaging market.

The consumer behaviour surveys target university students across several cities, covering different geographical regions, where the plastic crisis is a concern and/or a potential for sustainable transition exists. Including, but not limited to, Munich, Beijing, Cluj-Napoca, Istanbul, and Lima.

In addition to the surveys, we conduct behavioural experiments to measure the true maximum willingness to pay for seaweed packaging (compared to plastic packaging) by implementing the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) auction mechanism.

We expect to publish our final results by April 2026.

What are the barriers (e.g., perception, cost, policy, accessibility) that limit the adoption of seaweed-based packaging?

Team

Mara Bud
B.Sc. Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

Ahmed Elhefnawy
M.Sc. Sustainable Management and Technology

Philip Groult
M.Sc. Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

Abdullah Saydemir
M.Sc. Computer Science

Tutors

Stefan Lehner
PhD Student, TUM.

Supervisor

Prof. Dr. Claudia Doblinger

Associate Professor of Innovation and Technology Management, TUM.
Academic Director, TUM Venture Lab Sustainability / Circular.
claudia.doblinger(at)tum.de

Contact

Team K.U.N.S.T.
📧 kunst@ja.tum.de