Imagine replacing plastic city benches and playground equipment with materials made from plants that last just as long. This work uses digital twins—like a virtual mirror of the factory—to make sure these green materials are shaped and molded perfectly. When the products finally wear out, they are designed to be easily recycled or broken down naturally instead of sitting in a landfill.
Manufacturers struggle to replace petroleum-based plastics with bio-materials because they often lack the durability for outdoor use and are difficult to process using standard factory machinery.
A set of optimized manufacturing processes (extrusion, 3D printing, moulding) and Digital Twin models integrated with IoT and AI to monitor and improve bio-based product quality.
If you are a city equipment manufacturer dealing with high plastic waste and environmental regulations — this project developed a circularity-by-design approach that allows for 100% bio-based material content in durable outdoor products.
If you are an outdoor equipment producer dealing with poor material durability in bio-plastics — this project developed optimized extrusion and compression moulding processes to enhance mechanical properties for sports products.
If you are a factory automation provider dealing with inefficient production lines for new materials — this project developed IoT and AI-driven Digital Twins to optimize the shopfloor for bio-based manufacturing.
The project specifically aims to manufacture cost-effective, high-performance products using 100% bio-based material content. Based on available project data, the goal is to make these sustainable alternatives economically viable.
Yes, the project focuses on large-scale additive manufacturing, extrusion, and compression moulding. It includes 5 industrial partners to ensure the processes are applicable in real factory settings.
Based on available project data, the project focuses on contributing to the standardization of bio-based products and materials to facilitate wide adoption, though specific licensing terms are not listed.
The system integrates with existing SCADA systems and sensors through IoT and AI technologies to create Digital Twins of the manufacturing process.
The project runs from 2022-06-01 to 2026-05-31, meaning the results and validated processes will be finalized by May 2026.
The consortium is heavily weighted toward industrial application, with a 45% industry ratio (5 companies) and 5 research institutions. This balance, combined with partners from 6 different countries, suggests the results are being validated across diverse manufacturing environments rather than remaining in a lab.
Contact Instituto Tecnológico de Aragón for technical specifications on bio-based extrusion.
Contact us to find a partner for bio-based material scaling.
