SHAPE Ecosystem

Reshaping the life cycles of products and materials.

SHAPE is an innovation ecosystem aimed at reducing emissions in the manufacturing industry. We extend product and material life cycles by enhancing circularity and finding sustainable material solutions. We pilot new business concepts for repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing, and optimize data-driven sustainable processes.

We bring together diverse stakeholders to tackle challenges through various projects, fostering open innovation collaboration between companies, RDI organizations, and other actors across sectors. SHAPE includes companies of all sizes, research groups, universities, and other players. Together, we define opportunities and challenges, plan RDI projects, co-create innovative solutions, and gain insights.

Research and development themes

  • Boosting circularity

    Linking value chains to close resource cycles by setting standards in circularity and creating new innovative approaches.

    The objectives are to elaborate the potential of circular economy in creating more sustainable surface finishing solutions; to drive the development of circularity of materials in relevant manufacturing and construction value chains; to develop circular technology turning unavoidable process waste into resources and to assess new recycling and circular business models. 

  • Sustainable materials

    Going beyond ecodesign, understanding the environmental impacts of materials and increasing climate-friendly raw materials.

    The objectives are to research the sustainability potential of materials; to research new biobased materials and utilization of recycled materials throughout the whole value chain and to establish making value of waste, concepts and business models for dust, by finding uses in circular economy value chains, turning dust from a cost and health issue to business potential.

  • Repair, refurbish and remanufacture

    Catching carbon by prolonging product life. Enable test-beds and piloting for new concepts, start-up incubator and innovation lab.

    The objectives are to utilize innovative surface finishing technologies making remanufacturing and refurbishing feasible by developing processes for restoring surfaces and design surfaces for refurbishing; exploring and researching future surfaces and coatings; building up knowhow and functional models for surface interaction simulations; developing and optimizing surface finishing solutions for future new materials, such as biomaterials and recycled materials; combining innovative solutions with new business models.

  • Intelligence throughout value chains

    Data driven value creation. IoT based intelligent automation for more sustainable processes and data driven optimization with analytics, AI and ML.

    The objective is to measure and model value chain net impact and to create an IoT based data driven model for assessing the foot- and handprints in manufacturing enabling design of processes achieving net carbon negative surfaces.

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Meet the Team