Oakdene Hollins, which runs the Centre for Remanufacturing and Reuse (CRR), to lead project aiming to grow remanufacturing in the EU.
MRW reported that the Aylesbury-based consultancy firm is to lead a €1.5 million ($1.9 million) remanufacturing project in the EU after winning the tender under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 framework for research and innovation.
The project, which will be launched early next year, will study “the potential size of the remanufacturing sector” in the EU and include “workshops to encourage best practices and promote remanufacturing across EU industries”. It will also involve the creation of a “dedicated pan-European centre”, as well as a European Council for Remanufacturers.
The project will be run by Oakdene Hollins in partnership with a number of other companies and establishments, including the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, 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.”
Meanwhile, Ben Walsh, Senior Consultant at Oakdene Hollins and Manager at the CRR, said: “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,” adding that the project will act as a “springboard” to ensure Europe remains competitive in the global market.
The Recycler has reported recently on a Parliamentary inquiry into remanufacturing in the UK, with Kleen Strike’s Laura Heywood commenting on the impact the inquiry could have on the UK’s cartridge remanufacturing industry.
It was reported in March that a study found remanufacturing could boost the UK economy by $9.2 billion, but that the government needed to “address the barriers”; while former Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman commented in September that “there remains much work to be done” to improve the UK’s remanufacturing industry, but growth will improve economic and environmental “resilience”.