Strategic Community “De- and Remanufacturing for Circular Economy”
The circular economy is an economic system based on reuse and regeneration of materials and products in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. It can help reduce environmental impact on the territory, limiting its dependence on external resources and fostering new sustainable business models.
Aligned with the numerous European policies and initiatives, the Strategic Community “De- and Remanufacturing for Circular Economy” brings together the main regional stakeholders on the topic of sustainability to develop and implement innovative materials, products, technologies, and processes for reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling, all accurately reported in the Roadmap elaborated by the working group in 2020.
KEY TOPICS OF THE STRATEGIC COMMUNITY
The Strategic Community has identified numerous topics involving different types of materials, components, and products, a wide range of applications across multiple sectors, and various options for closing the loop in circular value chains, including reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling. Specific challenges concern sustainable redesign, disassembling, recycling and regeneration processes and technologies, the development of IT solutions for the circular economy, and the definition of new business and logistics models. Furthermore, the development of new policies to support the circular economy is of growing relevance at both local and European levels. Currently, the main application areas of interest are:
- reuse and recovery of composite materials;
- reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling of electric vehicles, with particular focus on batteries;
- circular economy solutions in the textile sector;
- circular economy solutions in the steel sector.
THE ACTIVITIES OF THE STRATEGIC COMMUNITY
Through the years the Strategic Community, coordinated by Politecnico di Milano, has shown an active effort in different activities to promote its mission. These include the development of a shared vision on circular economy and its connected challenges, the sharing of industrial best practices through company visits, the updating on existing projects, the facilitation of collaboration opportunities, the search for collaboration opportunities, concept validation, the search for funding opportunities, training opportunities and the organization of discussions focused on specific value chains.
At a European level, the Strategic Community has a leadership role in the Vanguard Initiative Efficient and Sustainable Manufacturing (ESM) Pilot demo case “De- and Remanufacturing”. Through this initiative significant European projects were conceived and developed, such as FiberEUse, CarE-Service, and DigiPrime. The innovative solutions and processes developed for the reuse and recycling of composite materials have been integrated into the DeremCo project, aimed at scalability and commercialisation, demonstrating the significant industrial impact of the Strategic Community. The project BATMASS also emerged from this Strategic Community in the context of the ESM Pilot, aiming to create the first “EU Circular Battery Valley”.
At a regional level, the inputs that emerged have been taken up by the institutions through a series of events organised in collaboration with Lombardy Region, addressing both battery-related topics and the circularity of the steel value chain. A concrete outcome was the Collaboration Agreement co-funded by Lombardy Region for the establishment of a Regional Circular Economy Hub aimed at developing skills and fostering technology transfer in the electric mobility sector.
THE LOMBARDY REGION VALUE CHAINS
The Strategic Community successfully participated in the Expression of Interest for Value Chains promoted by Lombardy Region, obtaining recognition for three proposals. The “Innovative and sustainable steel value chain”, coordinated by Duferco and developed together with IBS Consulting, focuses on the implementation of innovative technologies for the recovery of process waste and the closing of the loop in the steel value chain. The Regional Recycling Processes for Textile (RE4TES) project, developed in collaboration with Sistema Moda Italia, aims to create circular models for the reuse and recycling of textiles, from reverse logistics to sorting and fibre regeneration. The “Inclusive, efficient and sustainable natural textile and fashion value chain”, coordinated by Innovhub SSI with the support of AFIL and CNA Lombardia, promotes the digitalisation and sustainability of the natural textile value chain, with particular attention to the circular economy for fibres such as wool, cotton, and linen.
LOMBARDY ROADMAP FOR CIRCULAR ECONOMY R&I
Developed from 2019 within the Strategic Community and adopted by Lombardy Region in May 2020, the Lombardy Roadmap for Research and Innovation on Circular Economy provides a strategic framework for the transition towards a circular economy, in line with the regional Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3). The document is the result of a collaborative and inclusive process that involved the Lombardy Technology Clusters, with AFIL acting as coordinator, and a public consultation that gathered over 2,300 participants.
The identified Research and Innovation priorities span the entire circular value chain — from design to circular production processes, from reverse logistics to remanufacturing, recycling, and raw material recovery — following an approach that combines the sectoral needs of the region with major European and international megatrends.
In addition to thematic priorities, the Roadmap identifies the enabling conditions for the circular transition, with reference to the regulatory framework, infrastructure, skills, and ecosystem development. The document also contributes to the definition of the regional S3 2021–2027 and promotes interregional cooperation within European initiatives such as the Vanguard Initiative and the European Commission’s Smart Specialisation Platform (S3 Platform).
CONTACTS
Eda Ipek – eda.ipek@afil.it
Carlo Mondani – carlo.mondani@afil.it