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New project to increase circularity in the manufacturing industry

The main goal of the SmartCircle project is to integrate circular economy principles into Swedish manufacturing companies by using advanced digital technologies.

The SmartCircle project has the potential to accelerate and scale the adoption of smart circularity practices in the Swedish manufacturing industry.

A new project aims to promote the implementation of circularity and circular economy within the Swedish manufacturing industry. With funding from Vinnova's FFI Circularity program of 7.7 million SEK (a total of 16 million SEK) and a strong project consortium, the goal is to leverage advanced digital technologies to create sustainable and efficient solutions.

The main goal of the SmartCircle project is to integrate circular economy principles into Swedish manufacturing companies by using advanced digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain. Despite increased awareness and several pilot initiatives, the Swedish manufacturing industry faces significant challenges in scaling up circularity, producing, and consuming goods in a more sustainable way. Most efforts are isolated to individual companies or specific sectors and lack the collaboration needed between companies and industries to create large-scale, impactful circular solutions. SmartCircle now takes on the challenge through several project goals.

Five goals of the SmartCircle project

  1. Leverage advanced digital technologies: By using IoT, AI, cloud services, blockchain, and big data analytics, the project aims to enhance the integration of circular economy principles in at least five Swedish manufacturing companies.
  2. Implement and document real-time cases: The project will implement and document at least five real-time cases of circularity enabled by digitalization. This will provide insights that facilitate the implementation and commercialization of circular practices, with the goal of reducing resource consumption and waste.
  3. Develop a comprehensive methodology: A comprehensive methodology for the development and implementation of smart circularity in manufacturing companies will be developed.
  4. Establish collaboration networks: The project aims to establish a network for collaboration between companies and industries, with at least ten cross-company partnerships and three cross-industry alliances. The network will promote the use and scaling of circular economy solutions.
  5. Align project outcomes with Sweden's climate-neutral goals: By demonstrating the transformation of linear processes into circular systems, the project aims to significantly reduce environmental impact and support Sweden's climate-neutral goals.

A new standard for sustainability

The project is led by MDU and Luleå University of Technology, together with partners such as Weda, Assa Abloy, CH Industry, EEPAB, Trifilon, Harting, Addiva, Miljö- & Avfallsbyrån, MITC, and Södertälje Science Park. Together, these actors will work to map circular ecosystems and business models, develop circular product-service systems, and implement smart circularity solutions.

"SmartCircle has the potential to accelerate and scale the adoption of smart circularity practices in the Swedish manufacturing industry by working on five real-time use cases. These efforts could set a new standard for sustainability and drive sustainable industry transformation," says MDU's Project manager Koteshwar Chirumalla about the project, which runs until December 2028.

More about the project

SmartCircle

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