Vinnova grant for a small project with great impact potential
A feasibility study involving KTH, Scania and Scandinavian Transmission Service AB, kicked off in September 2023. The project will focus on integrating remanufactured gearboxes in the production line of new trucks from technology, legal and customer perspectives.
Farazee Asif, Assistant Professor and Docent at the Department of Production Engineering, is the project lead.
”The transition towards a circular economy (CE) has become inevitable to mitigate challenges of resource scarcity and resource price volatility, as well as minimize the climate and environmental impact. To become circular the remanufacturing intensity in all sectors needs to be increased by integrating remanufactured parts in the production of new products”, says Farazee Asif.
Despite remanufacturing being a successful activity from the technical, economic and environmental points of view, the remanufacturing intensity (ratio of remanufacturing to new manufacturing) is only 1.9 percent in the EU. One way to increase this intensity is to integrate remanufactured parts into new products. However, such integration needs to overcome several challenges related to technological and legal aspects as well as customer acceptance.
The project therefore aims to unfold new knowledge by testing the hypothesis that, integration of remanufactured gearboxes in the production line of new trucks is technically possible and legally allowed while meeting all standards (e.g., safety, reliability and customer acceptance) as of a newly produced gearbox.
”Such integration is essential to scale up the circularity in the manufacturing sector to embrace the true potential of Circular Economy. If the hypothesis turns out to be true, this could be a game changer for the manufacturers that want to become circular”, says Farazee Asif.
The project puts together two important actors in the value chain, i.e. Original Equipment Manufacturer (Scania) and the remanufacturer (Scandinavian Transmission Service AB) supported by the team at KTH with expertise in implementing Circular Manufacturing Systems. Such a constellation is essential for the success of the project and establishing a strong scientific base.
Read the project summary on vinnova.se (in Swedish): Genomförbarhetsstudie av cirkulära flöden av renoverade växellådor för nyproduktion av lastbilar (iReGear)
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