The European project ALICIA, platform coordinated by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and funded by Horizon Europe, aims to revolutionize the manufacturing sector by promoting the transition to a circular economy.
The ALICIA focuses on optimizing the market for second-hand industrial machines, reducing resource waste and extending the useful life of manufacturing assets. With innovative digital tools, such as an AI for matching supply and demand and a Digital Twin to simulate and monitor production lines, ALICIA creates an ecosystem that enables up to 100 percent reuse of assets. This project not only addresses the challenges of climate change, but also reduces costs and accelerates implementation time for companies, representing a key step toward EU climate neutrality by 2050.
Why industrial machines?
«The majority of machine parts in production, such as robot arms or conveyor belts, do not reach their maximum service life and are discarded prematurely – as the project describes – It is estimated that in the automotive industry up to 70% of production assets are taken out of operation before the end of their lifespan, are scrapped or at best sold as spare parts. This is not only uneconomical, but also unsustainable. This is an issue that needs to be addressed as part of the European Green Deal’s aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2050».
The second hand market
One way to address this issue is undoubtedly the creation of a second-hand market for these machines. Such a market already exists in Europe. For example, Surplex, now part of the TB Auctions group, is a company whose core business is precisely to connect supply and demand for various types of second-hand industrial machines, particularly those for metal and wood processing. «However – says Dr. Oana Moldovan, Senior Project Manager for EU Initiatives at Surplex, – the connection between industrial companies and the second hand machinery market could be improved, for instance, by using innovative digital tools to better match supply and demand. Through these digital tools, a new type of circular economy – the Circular Manufacturing Ecosystem – can be created. ». This need led to the creation of ALICIA, a platform, that extends beyond the definition of a marketplace, developed by twelve partners from research and industry, who are working on various smart, digital tools for the sustainable use of production resources. The project is coordinated by the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
Smart and innovative digital tools
The major innovation of the ALICIA platform is the integration of cutting-edge digital tools that coordinate and connect supply and demand in the best possible way. These digital tools, working in an integrated manner, will enable the establishment of efficient economic connections between industrial players and the used machinery market. This strategic linkage allows assets to be reused up to 100%, thus promoting sustainability and resource optimization.
«The important challenge that is tackled in this project is the achievement of a coordinated and perfectly integrated action of all the digital tools involved in the ALICIA ecosystem, in order to to optimize resource utilization and facilitate a seamless transition towards a circular economy.» explains Dr. Moldovan.
The work flow
Imagine you are the owner of a factory and need a scond hand machine. You turn to the ALICIA platform, providing all the information about your needs. ALICIA will likely ask you additional questions through its machine-readable ontology tool to further understand how and for what purposes you’ll use that machine. At this point, once ALICIA has gathered the necessary information about the ecosystem in which the machine will operate, it will suggest the best available solution on its online marketplace using its AI matchmaking engine.
As ALICIA will be enhanced with a service provision layer, it will allow you to request remanufacturing, transport or installation services, if needed.
Once you find the machine that suits your needs, ALICIA will create a digital shadow of the production line, showing you how it could work in your ecosystem. If the machine eventually becomes part of your production ecosystem, this digital shadow will evolve into a Digital Twin (DT). The DT will be updated in real-time with production data from machine sensors and other sources, creating a virtual image of the actual system, such as the production line. At the end of use, the machine can be re-introduced in the marketplace, closing the loop of the Circular Manufacturing Ecosystem ALICIA.
But how do machines enter the digital marketplace, in the first place? Here, the supply side comes into play. If you are an owner who wants to sell your machines, you submit them to ALICIA, which will decide—based on virtual assessments and, if necessary, on-site evaluations—whether your machine can be sold on the platform, along with its valuation (proposed price) and conditions. Then, it will eventually be rt of its online market place database, waiting being matched with the needs of a comapny owner.
Where do we stand?
The European project that led to the creation of ALICIA started in 2023 and will finalize at the end of 2025. Into it will flow also the know-how of Surplex on the second-hand machinery market. «Initially, the marketplace in ALICIA will probably not only include individual second-hand machines, but also components. What the business model for participating in the platform will be is still to be defined as well as other details» explains Moldovan. Work is still in progress, but this platform is undoubtedly an instrument worth continuing to observe. The second-hand market can not only be an essential solution for responding to the ceasing of the circulating economy but can also be a precise response to the business models of companies which, for various reasons, do not want to use new machinery. With a well-organized second-hand market Production managers can acquire a used production line up to 40% faster and at least half the cost of having a new one built and installed. By maximizing the machine’s service life, material and energy consumption can be reduced by up to 80% compared to a new machine. With the ALICIA ecosystem, assets can be reused up to 100%. In conclusion, the EU project ALICIA leads in sustainable production by harnessing digital innovation for efficient, eco-friendly use of production assets. Through strategic initiatives and collaboration, ALICIA shapes a future where circular economy principles transform manufacturing toward enhanced sustainability and resource efficiency. This project strengthens the EU’s resilience to global supply chain disruptions and plays a crucial role in advancing a circular economy.
If you want to stay up to date with ALICIA, its features and progress you can join the project’s LinkedIn group.
by Mina Piloni
