The circular economy addresses global challenges by emphasising resource efficiency, environmental protection and economic opportunity. Therefore, it works towards eliminating climate change by reducing emissions tied to production and consumption.

European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan has identified seven key sectors where to advance circular economy: electronics and ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction and buildings and food, water and nutrients. Collaborative efforts between Research Infrastructures (RIs) and Technology Infrastructures (TIs) are critical in advancing these goals, as demonstrated in the ReMade@ARI project. This case study illustrates the findings based on the inputs of one RI – ESRF and three TIs – VTT, CEA and DTI.

Best Practices and Barriers

During the case study, the following best practices were highlighted:

• ReMade@ARI Collaboration: The ReMade@ARI project (2022–2026) unites 48 RIs across Europe to support circular material development in key sectors like plastics, textiles and food. It fosters RI and TI partnerships through shared frameworks, Trans-National Access and joint services, streamlining collaboration and boosting industrial impact.
• DTI and ESRF Roles: DTI builds strong customer relationships, while ESRF provides technical expertise. DTI identifies customer needs and supports data analysis, while ESRF handles experiments, ensuring efficient teamwork.
• VTT and Aalto University synergy: VTT focuses on applied research and scaling, while Aalto University specialises in early-stage academic studies. This partnership effectively moves research from academia to industrial innovation.

Although the case study showcased best practices, there were several barriers that hindered the smooth collaboration:

• Circular materials span diverse fields, and staff at TIs and RIs may lack knowledge about services offered across disciplines.
• Industrial users find 6+ month lead times for academic (thus requiring published data and results) beamtime too slow. Reducing this to 1 month would need changes in RI review processes.
• Commercial service providers may be impacted by publicly funded research infrastructure (RI) and academic collaborations, emphasising the need for well-defined frameworks for joint commercial RI-TI services.
• Capital investment for infrastructures is challenging. European funding focuses on labour and consumables, while national/regional funds for investments are smaller and less coordinated.

Recommendations

Focusing on the best practices and weighing all the challenges, several steps are proposed:

• Establish joint, long-term projects or collaborations between RIs, TIs and industries to create scalable, open-access solutions for addressing sector-specific challenges.
• Develop industry-friendly service catalogues tailored to individual infrastructures, free from jargon, to increase awareness and improve coordination between RIs, TIs and industry users.
• Pilot flexible funding models, such as fast-track access for exploratory projects, to support industrial needs and foster early collaborations.
• Clearly define roles and collaboration processes within RIs and TIs to build trust and streamline partnerships.

The circular economy has immense potential to tackle pressing environmental and industrial challenges. Projects like ReMade@ARI showcase the transformative power of RI and TI collaboration. By addressing existing barriers and working towards building solutions to overcome them, the full potential of these partnerships can be unlocked for a more sustainable future.