Advancing Dutch Circular Economy through Additive Manufacturing

Advancing Dutch Circular Economy through Additive Manufacturing: Strategies for Repair and Remanufacturing using AM (Add-reAM)

Traditional manufacturing produces too much waste and pollution. Researchers aim to solve this problem by using Additive Manufacturing (also known as 3D printing) to repair and reuse parts. This method helps to keep products longer in use, reducing waste and emissions. Add-reAM uniquely combines new design methods and digital tools to support industry in adopting this sustainable approach. Universities, industry and municipalities will collaborate closely to implement and share knowledge, aiming for wide acceptance and effective use of this technology throughout the Dutch economy.

For more information on the other projects awarded in the 2024 NWA-ORC round, please visit the NWO page.

VACANCIES

We are expanding our team for the awarded NWA ORC Add-ReAM project. Join us in advancing next-generation additive repair and manufacturing technologies. Explore the opportunities below.

PhD position on Integration of Additive Manufacturing in Circular Factory Systems
This project explores how Additive Manufacturing (AM) can be embedded into digital factory environments to support circular production. The PhD will develop digital factory models and simulations of AM process chains, integrating materials, energy, and operational efficiency. The research includes designing, planning, and configuration tools, prototyping both digital and physical workflows (e.g., intralogistics), and validating models with industrial case studies. The ultimate aim is to deliver guidelines for scalable, circular AM-enabled factories.
For more information regarding this position, contact Yingjun Quan

PhD position on Supply Chain Design and Coordination for AM-Based Repair/Remanufacturing
* this position has been filled
This project investigates how AM changes the design and governance of supply chains for spare parts in repair/remanufacturing contexts. The research focuses on developing design principles for circular supply chains that integrate AM, while also addressing cooperation and coordination mechanisms between network actors. Empirical methods such as Delphi studies, case studies, and design science will be applied to benchmark and guide the creation of sustainable AM-based networks.
For more information regarding this position, contact Dirk Pieter van Donk

PhD position on Design of Forward and Reverse Supply Chains for Additive Manufacturing in Maintenance
This project aims to design dynamic supply chain models that integrate forward and reverse flows in AM-supported maintenance environments. The PhD will investigate where in product structures AM can best be deployed for repair and spare parts, optimize strategies for repair/replacement (including direct repair and consolidation), and study how AM equipment can be repositioned dynamically — including in Defence and industrial settings. Real-life cases with partners like the Dutch Ministry of Defence, GKN, and ProRail will be used for validation.
For more information regarding this position, contact Engin Topan

PhD position on AI-Driven Repair Recommendations for Sustainable Manufacturing
This project develops intelligent AI-driven tools for deciding whether a component should be repaired, reused, or discarded in a sustainable manufacturing context. The focus is on machine learning methods for Remaining Useful Life (RUL) prediction and condition assessment, emphasizing data-centric approaches that work even with imperfect or limited data. The research combines predictive models with optimization techniques to support cost-effective and environmentally responsible decisions, contributing to circular economy goals.
For more information regarding this position, contact Zaharah Bukhsh

PhD position on Sustainable Spare Parts Management using Additive Manufacturing
This project looks at how AM can fundamentally transform spare parts logistics by reducing waste, avoiding overstocking, and enabling on-demand local production. The PhD will develop operations research-based models for sustainable spare parts management, including designing AM-enabled supply chains, optimizing inventory and ordering policies, and deciding on treatment options for failed parts (repair, remanufacture, recycle). Case studies with partner organizations will ensure practical relevance and contribute to advancing circular and data-driven supply chains.
For more information regarding this position, contact Rob Basten

PhD position on Hybrid AI for Real-Time Quality Control of Additive Manufacturing
This project addresses the challenge of ensuring consistent quality in AM-based remanufacturing, where processes are nonlinear, uncertain, and partially observable. The PhD will design a hybrid AI framework that combines data-driven learning and model-based reasoning for adaptive quality control. The system will support real-time monitoring of in-process performance, assessment of returned parts, and decision-making under uncertainty. The goal is to create an integrated, intelligent control system that improves reliability, sustainability, and circularity in AM production.
For more information regarding this position, contact Mehrdad Mohammadi

PhD position on Material selection for durability and multi-cycle use in Additive Manufacturing
One important aspect missing in current research is the lack of methodology for appropriate selection of materials for repair and remanufacturing using AM. Traditional material selection methods often fail to address key constraints, particularly durability and circularity from a lifecycle perspective. Material selection in AM is complex due to the diverse range of materials (metals, polymers, ceramics, composites) and the varying demands of different AM technologies, such as printability, layer adhesion and anisotropic mechanical properties. Materials used in AM must meet functional requirements—such as mechanical strength, thermal stability and wear resistance—while also being compatible with the specific AM technology. Although new alloys and composites have been developed for enhanced durability, there is still no comprehensive framework for material selection in AM-based repair and remanufacturing that balances performance, design constraints and sustainability. This research aims to develop a systematic methodology for selecting materials capable of withstanding multiple remanufacturing cycles without significant degradation. Factors such as thermal stress, fatigue, corrosion, erosion and mechanical wear impact material durability in AM. For repair applications, materials must demonstrate long-term performance and repair tolerance. Several computational tools, like ANSYS Granta Edupack, enable material comparisons based on specific constraints, but they require in-depth knowledge of materials science and manufacturing processes. This research will integrate image recognition technology with material databases (e.g., ANSYS Granta Edupack) to create a robust methodology for selecting optimal materials for AM-based repair. Users will input data and images of damaged components and the methodology will identify suitable materials and AM processes based on circularity, durability and performance. The resulting materials database will be made available to users in the form of an app, offering accessible, scientifically backed solutions for reducing waste and extending product lifecycles.

Research questions: How can material selection for additive manufacturing (AM) be optimized to ensure durability and circularity in repair and remanufacturing applications? What design constraints specific to AM processes should be considered during material selection to ensure successful repair and remanufacturing of components?

Connection to other tasks: We expect close collaboration with the tasks of WP2 and strong involvement in T4.1, as commercialization of the app will be carried out with the assistance of the Advanced manufacturing center at UT. Further interactions we expect with T3.1 for refining the business case and the app offering, and T3.3 for the sustainability assessments.

For more information regarding this position, contact Constantinos Goulas

PhD position on Utilizing AM in design for repair and remanufacturing
Using AM for spare part production can ensure that spare parts are available for a long time. Instead of keeping a large inventory of physical spare parts, a digital file of each spare part can be stored online and produced on demand. This will save costs and waste from unused parts while making them available for a longer period. However, spare parts are currently not designed for AM. Using AM to produce parts that were initially designed for injection moulding introduces one major challenge: translating the design from one manufacturing method to another. Both the overall product complexity and specific part requirements, such as fine details and flexibility, can make it difficult to reproduce injection moulded parts with AM. Moreover, redesigning spare parts for AM after the initial production gives minimal possibilities for design changes and creates an increased workload [24], so design methods need to be developed that address spare parts already in the early design stages. This means that parts should be designed for both injection moulding and AM. As both technologies have different specs, this implies that parts might not be physical copies but should be functionally equivalent. An important implementation gap is further that most companies have not yet adopted design strategies facilitating remanufacturing at scale. Access to technical knowledge is not a barrier, whereas integrating this knowledge into the existing design process is. This implies that Design for Remanufacturing needs to be embedded into existing processes.

Research questions: Which design aspects determine feasibility of remanufacturing and upgrading, for replacement spare parts as well as reconstructed parts? How can product and part design facilitate the production of 3D-printed spare parts with equivalent functionality in the design of original parts? How can product-service systems be designed that enable implementation of design for AM spare parts? With as an underlying sub-RQ: Which opportunities and barriers regarding implementation are perceived by stakeholders?

Connection to Other Tasks: We will build upon material selection criteria developed in Task 2.1 to optimize the re-manufacturability of parts. We will collaborate on supply chain design for the remanufacturing process with Task 1.2 and 1.3 and will incorporating LCA and consumer behavior aspects from Tasks 3.3 and 3.5 to evaluate the potential of design solutions.

For more information regarding this position, contact Ruud Balkenende

PhD position on Design for product repair focusing on AM capabilities
Design for repair has received increasing attention over the past 5 years and assessment of product repairability through scoring systems that evaluate design features is now feasible [26]. However, the opportunities of facilitating repair through AM are hardly addressed and focus on tedious, often not sustainable, self-repair, for which the initial design was never intended. The current methods and tools for design for repair therefore need to be readdressed to derive guidelines for AM-supported repair. Also, the scoring systems need to be revisited to ensure that AM-facilitated repair is treated fairly. One of the most notable design aspects in repair is design for disassembly and reassembly. In a highly repairable product, the components that fail most often should be easily accessible for repair or replacement. We recently developed the Disassembly Map method to guide designers to a range of improvement opportunities [27]. This map, however, doesn’t cover specifics of AM repair. Especially dealing with modules, consisting of multiple parts is potentially blocking AM for repair and remanufacturing. Further, although we expect commonalities with design for remanufacturing (Task 2.2), tensions between design strategies for repair and remanufacturing need to be resolved to avoid unfavorable trade-offs between repair and remanufacturing.

Research questions: How can AM facilitated repair opportunities be incorporated in design methods and repairability scoring systems? How can the Disassembly Map method be improved to incorporate the use of AM made spare parts? Which tensions occur between design for repair and design for remanufacturing and how can these be resolved?

Connection to Other Tasks: Task 2.1 will inform us on material selection strategies to optimize the repairability of AM-produced parts. Exchange with Task 2.2 regarding remanufacturing guidelines to investigate potential tensions between repair and remanufacturing. We will also need input from Task 3.3 and 3.5 on environmental and social impacts of AM repair strategies and the effect of consumer behaviour.

For more information regarding this position, contact Bas Flipsen

PhD position on Repair and remanufacturing using next generation AM technologies
Over the past 20 years, AM technologies have matured to the point where they are now widely accepted and regularly integrated into industry resource strategies, particularly in the context of Industry 4.0. However, AM continues to evolve, expanding to include a broader range of length scales (from microns to meters), composites, multi-materials and embedded components such as gears, sensors and actuators, further enhancing functionality. New AM products may include micron scale surface coatings, with porous and complex internal geometric structures, built in such a way that they may be highly functional but correspondingly difficult to recycle [28]. The goal of Task 2.4 is to explore the application of next generation AM technologies in the repair and remanufacturing of complex products. By leveraging advancements in AM, this task aims to improve the precision, efficiency and flexibility of repair and remanufacturing processes while minimizing material waste and energy consumption. It focuses on utilizing the latest developments in AM technologies to repair and remanufacture products, particularly those with intricate geometries and complex material requirements. Current AM processes offer significant potential for repairing high-value components that are difficult or impossible to fix using traditional methods. This task will identify and test cutting-edge AM techniques that enhance the repair and remanufacturing of products, aiming for improved cost-effectiveness and sustainability.

Research questions: What AM technologies are likely to be introduced into the manufacturing industry? How are these technologies potentially going to positively or negatively impact the environment? What tools can we adopt to ensure that designers understand the positive and negative aspects of AM? How do we ensure that products can be effectively remanufactured using AM?

Connection to Other Tasks: We will work closely with T1.2 on the choice of AM technology and how it connects with other manufacturing equipment and will have an impact on the supply chain. In T1.5 management will be affected by whether the new product is original or modified using additional components. We must therefore understand how to measure performance and quality of components in the manufacturing system. We will use the findings of T3.2 on how remanufactured products must adhere to relevant standards and compliance. For T4.1 we will deliver insight to help drive the development of a series of remanufacturing demonstrators, utilizing AM.

For more information regarding this position, contact Ian Gibson

PhD position on Circular Economy, Additive Manufacturing and Law
The circular economy is a cornerstone of the European Green Deal, yet current legal frameworks remain too focused on linear product lifespans. Existing initiatives like the Circular Economy Action Plan, Ecodesign regulation, Extended Producer Responsibility and the Right to Repair have laid important groundwork but fall short of enabling a systemic shift. At the same time, lobbying pressures, greenwashing risks and inconsistent regulatory incentives create barriers for innovative sectors such as additive manufacturing, which has the potential to radically change production and repair practices.
In this PhD research, you will legally analyse these regulatory barriers and explore how law and policy can create a clearer, more effective framework for circular practices. You will investigate both general legal challenges and selected case studies, combining desk research with stakeholder engagement through surveys, interviews and workshops. The aim is to develop actionable legal insights and recommendations that support the integration of circular economy principles into practice, with a specific focus on additive manufacturing.

Research questions: How can legislation overcome obstacles such as consumer protection rules that prioritise “new” products over repair, intellectual property rights that restrict access to spare parts, or fragmented tax regimes? And how can binding, principle-based legal frameworks help turn circular economy goals into enforceable practice?

For more information regarding this position, contact Leonie Reins

PhD position on Environmental and societal impact of repair and remanufacturing using AM
The doctoral candidate will develop and operationalize an SSbD-aligned methodological framework to quantify the environmental and societal performance of additive-manufacturing (AM) solutions for repair and remanufacturing. Their work will adapt the JRC’s Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) guidance to the specifics of AM repair/remanufacturing, defining transparent system boundaries, SSbD decision criteria and protocols for ex-ante LCA and S-LCA that explicitly account for current TRL and prospective, up-scaled industrial deployments. Methodologically, the candidate will advance ex-ante LCA practice for AM by constructing up-scaling scenarios, harmonizing foreground and background inventories from partner data and public databases, and applying rigorous uncertainty and sensitivity analysis to propagate techno-economic and process variability through impact results — building on recent systematic LCA reviews and prospective LCA methods developed for AM. Concurrently, they will implement S-LCA according to UNEP-SETAC guidance and PSILCA-style approaches, prioritising primary supplier-tier data collection (e.g. structured interviews) while integrating country/sector proxies to capture indirect social impacts across the supply chain. A core scientific contribution will be the synthesis of environmental, social and safety indicators into a decision-support architecture that uses Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and multi-objective optimisation to reveal robust trade-offs and Pareto-efficient design spaces for AM repair/remanufacturing options. The candidate will test and validate this integrated pipeline on project case studies and deliver open-source implementations to ensure transparency and reproducibility, following recent advances in LCA–MCDA integration and decision support for circular technologies. Outputs will include harmonised ex-ante LCI datasets, peer-reviewable methodological extensions to LCA/S-LCA for circular AM systems, MCDA optimisation workflows, and SSbD evaluation reports that will directly inform Tasks 1.2, 2.4 and 3.5 — thereby translating frontier methodological development into actionable guidance for sustainable, safe and socially responsible industrial deployment of AM repair and remanufacturing. 
For more information regarding this position, contact Stefano Cucurachi

PhD position on Standardization and Intellectual Property (IP) for Additive Manufacturing in repair and remanufacturing
Additive Manufacturing (also colloquially known as 3D printing) is an important development in repair and remanufacturing, allowing for longer product lifetime and promoting a more sustainable and circular economy. This project investigates and integrates two crucial elements for the breakthrough and impact of Additive Manufacturing: Standardization and Intellectual Property (IP). Aiming for both theoretical and practical contributions, this project employs mixed methods (combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches) and state-of-the-art academic research. Moreover, as the winning candidate, you will be working together with the Dutch standards institute NEN, and you will investigate how standardisation, now and in the future, can be a key mechanism for companies to develop high-performance products that are also safe and that meet the legal requirements. And working together with the Dutch patent office (Octrooicentrum NL), you will navigate the complex but fascinating landscape of patent protection, design rights, and copyrights, and how these hinder or promote the wide-scale introduction of Additive Manufacturing in repair and remanufacturing. A key element here is the tension between IP holders and third-party repairers under the EU’s Right to Repair policy.
For more information regarding this position, contact Rudi Bekkers or Emilio Raiteri

PhD position on Advancing consumer acceptance of additive manufacturing technologies for repair and refurbishment within the Dutch circular economy
The PhD candidate will investigate motivators and barriers in consumer acceptance of 3D printing for repair and refurbishment practices and develop and test interventions to increase adoption. The research group of Responsible Marketing and Consumer Behaviour at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) is looking for a PhD to do research on the transition to a Circular Economy through increasing consumer adoption of repair/refurbishment practices with the aid of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies (e.g., 3D printing). The research group Responsible Marketing and Consumer Research focusses on theories and models from marketing and consumer research that can contribute to successful new product development (NPD). The group has experience in teaching and conducting high quality research on consumer behaviour in NPD, consumers’ perceptions of new product designs, and on improving the acceptance of new sustainable alternatives. By enhancing knowledge in these areas, we aim to help designers create more successful and sustainable product and services. A Circular Economy requires changes in consumer behaviour, such as adopting repair practices and purchasing refurbished products. However, consumers face barriers to adopting such circular behaviours. For repair, challenges include time, effort, lack of knowledge, high costs, availability of spare parts and perceived low product value. Repair and refurbishments are also met with scepticism, as consumers often associate it with lower quality and wear. As a result, repair is rarely considered, and refurbishment occupies a small share of the consumer market. This PhD project will explore how AM can increase consumer adoption of repair and refurbishment, as AM offers unique opportunities for customization, fast and cost-effective repairs and enhanced product value. However, consumer perceptions of AM in repair and refurbishment contexts remain unclear, as does their likelihood of adopting these solutions based on product design integration.
Accordingly, this PhD project aims to answer the following research questions: 1) What motivators and barriers do consumers experience regarding AM-based repair and remanufacturing? and 2) Which design strategies will increase consumer adoption of AM-based repair and remanufacturing? To answer these research questions, we expect to use a mixed-method approach, including both consumer research (qualitative and quantitative) and Research-through-Design (RtD)
For more information regarding this position, contact Ruth Mugge or Giulia Granato

PhD position on Spatial Planning of Industries Strategies and Circular Economy
This project aims to examine how additive manufacturing can reshape industrial ecosystems, spatial planning, and circular economy strategies in the Netherlands. The PhD research involves mapping production networks, infrastructure, and policy conditions using mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. Outcomes will support evidence-based recommendations for sustainable, competitive regional development and integration of advanced manufacturing into future-oriented planning frameworks, while collaborating with stakeholders to identify barriers and opportunities for broader technology adoption.
For more information regarding this position, contact Dr. Karel Van den Berghe

EVENTS

• 23 February 2026, 10:30 – 17:00 – Kick off (In-Person)
• 23 January 2026, 10:00 – 12:00 – Pre-kick off (Online)
• 21 November 2025: Consortium agreement signing started

NEWS

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