By Émer O’Toole, News Editor
The University will work with a UK-based consultancy in a £1.2 million scheme to grow remanufacturing in the European Union.
Oakdene Hollins (OH), which runs the Aylesbury-based Centre for Remanufacturing and Reuse (CRR), was given the go-ahead by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020, a framework for research and innovation.
The initiative involves examining the potential size of the remanufacturing sector and hosting workshops to promote effective practice.
A European Council for Remanufacturers will also be established as part of the project.
As well as Strathclyde, OH will also team up with research company Fraunhofer in Germany, Linköping University in Sweden, VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland, Grenoble INP in France and Delft Technical University and Circle Economy from the Netherlands.
Rachel Waugh, project leader at Oakdene Hollins, said: “This is the first time such a wealth of expertise on remanufacturing has been available under one project.”
“We believe that this project will help propel remanufacturing into main stream business practice.”
Ben Walsh, senior consultant at Oakdene Hollins and manager at the CRR, said that the project will provide a “springboard” to ensure Europe remains competitive in the global market.
He continued: “For the past two years, we have argued that the Chinese state, the US Department for Commerce and the South Korean Government have each been investing in their remanufacturing industries – and that Europe was in danger of falling behind.”
The initiative will begin early next year.
