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SIRKULÆRØKONOMI-Sirkulær økonomi

1-2-TRE-STEG: Steps towards circularity in wood-based building

Alternative title: 1-2-TRE-STEG: Forbedringer til en mer sirkulær trebasert bygging

Awarded: NOK 14.9 mill.

Wood, as a building material, has a long tradition in Norway. Most of Norway's residential projects and an ever increasing number of larger buildings are constructed using wooden materials. However, at the end of their service-life, when buildings are demolished, the wooden materials frequently disappear in landfills or are incinerated. This represents untapped potential, as much of the material might be reused instead. This project suggests ideas for how wood from old buildings can be put to a new use in the context of Innlandet's wood-based building industry. This would reduce garbage, help saving resources, and support Norway in reducing carbon emissions. Examples explored in this project are: (1) Hunton testing the use of recycled materials in their wood-fibre products or, (2) Ly Hytta using recycled materials in the production of prefab timber-frame cabins. Based on test cases, this project develops cost-effective, sustainable, and industrial methods enabling a much greater degree of reuse of wooden components, elements, and modules. The project combines theory and practice by combining of theoretical studies, case studies and data collection in companies and experiments in laboratories. This research is useful beyond Innlandet as it helps understanding the technology and processes necessary for making the wood-based building industry more circular and innovative. The project partners have strong expertise in wood-based construction ensuring that findings would be relevant. The 1-2-TRE-STEG project partners include the Norwegian Wood Cluster, Hunton a manufacturer of wood-based building products, Ly Hytta a local timber-frame cottage manufacturer, Innlandet county municipality, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Wood is a widely used building material in Norway and adopting a directed strategy prolonging the service life of wood-based building products would mitigate for some of the adverse environmental effects associated with construction. Wood binds carbon and the more its service life can be extended the more carbon is stored for longer. Thus, extending the service life of wood-based building products is in line with Norway’s national commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 2030. 1-2-TRE-STEG explores solutions for extending the service life of wood-based building products though reclaiming wood-based material, reverse logistics, and remanufacturing of products. The ambition is to develop cost-effective, sustainable, and industrial methods enabling a much greater degree of reuse of wooden components, elements, and modules. In addition, 1-2-TRE-STEG will work to develop new theory, methods and prototypes for digital tools useful for supporting a circular approach. A spatial planning approach will be applied for identifying technological limitations, costs, environmental concerns, and operational radiuses of circular activities like remanufacturing. The results will be derived through a combination of theoretical studies, field studies and data collection in the companies and experiments in laboratories. This research approach was deemed appropriate for exemplifying the physical and digital infrastructure necessary for enabling remanufacturing and other circular activities in the wood-based sector. Moreover, the project partners were selected for their expertise in wood-based construction ensuring that findings would be relevant for industry and research. The 1-2-TRE-STEG project partners include the Norwegian Wood Cluster, Hunton a manufacturer of wood-based building products, Ly Hytta a local timber-frame cottage manufacturer, Innlandet county municipality, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Funding scheme:

SIRKULÆRØKONOMI-Sirkulær økonomi