ADD-reAM Project description:
The ADD-reAM project, funded by the Dutch NWO as a Research along Routes by Consortia (ORC), aims to accelerate the transition towards a circular manufacturing economy by enabling repair and remanufacturing through advanced Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. Instead of following the traditional linear model of “produce–use–discard”, ADD-reAM focuses on extending product lifetimes, reducing waste, and lowering dependency on virgin raw materials by embedding AM into industrial repair and remanufacturing practices.
This large, interdisciplinary national research programme consists of 15 PhD projects which will contribute to the development of innovative methodologies, tools and design strategies that make AM a reliable, scalable and economically viable solution for repair and remanufacturing across industrial sectors. The research will address key technical and systemic challenges, such as component redesign for repair, integration of AM into existing production and supply chains, and performance, sustainability or cost trade-offs compared to conventional manufacturing routes.
The projects will work in close collaboration with, mainly Dutch, academic and industrial partners. Research will contribute to real-world demonstrators, decision-support tools and guidelines that support industry, policymakers and society in adopting circular manufacturing practices. The project is embedded in a strong national consortium and offers a unique opportunity to conduct impactful, application-driven research at the interface of AM, circular economy and sustainable industrial systems.
PhD Projects:
You will be part of an interdisciplinary and international research environment and will collaborate closely with other researchers within the DPM department and the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform for Advanced Manufacturing.
There are 3 PhD positions available at the University of Twente, who will work closely together but on 3 distinct topics:
1. Next-Generation Additive Manufacturing for Sustainable Remanufacturing:
This PhD project investigates how emerging and future developments in AM will reshape repair and remanufacturing practices within a circular economy. Recent advances in AM enable the production of highly complex components, including multi-material parts, smart architectures, composites, and components with embedded electromechanical functionality. While these technologies offer major opportunities to enhance product performance during remanufacturing, they also introduce new challenges related to recyclability, sustainability, and long-term resource use.
The PhD candidate will explore how next-generation AM technologies can be applied responsibly within remanufacturing contexts, balancing product enhancement with circularity principles. The research will provide designers and engineers with guidance on how to integrate advanced AM capabilities in a way that supports sustainable design, smart product lifecycles, and future-ready manufacturing systems. The project combines technological foresight, design thinking, and sustainability-driven manufacturing research.
2. Integration of Additive Manufacturing in Circular Factory Systems:
This PhD project focuses on the integration of AM into circular factory systems, with the aim of enabling resource-efficient, flexible, and sustainable production environments. This research addresses the challenge of embedding AM technologies into existing and new factory layouts, while accounting for material flows, energy use, logistics, and digitalisation.
The PhD candidate will develop digital factory models, simulations, and planning tools that support the design and operation of circular AM-enabled factories. Crucially, this role involves conducting prototypical technical implementations of digital and physical (e.g. including intralogistics) workflows at the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform for Advanced Manufacturing (FIP-AM@UT). The research combines manufacturing systems engineering, digital factory modelling, and sustainability assessment, and includes validation through industrial case studies and demonstrators. By bridging digital modelling with real-world factory implementation, this project will contribute practical methodologies and guidelines for scalable, circular manufacturing systems across multiple industrial sectors.
3. Material Selection for Durable and Circular Additive Manufacturing:
This PhD project focuses on developing a systematic methodology for material selection in AM, with an emphasis on durability, circularity, and multi-cycle use in repair and remanufacturing applications. Current material selection approaches often fail to consider lifecycle performance and the unique constraints of AM processes.
The PhD candidate will combine materials science, computational modelling to design a novel framework that identifies optimal materials and AM processes based on performance, sustainability, and reusability criteria. They will develop and validate this methodology by integrating material databases with digital tools that assist engineers in selecting suitable materials for AM-based repair.
Information and application
Are you interested in this position? Please send your application via the 'Apply now' button below before February 23, and include:
- A Curriculum Vitae demonstrating your suitability for the role.
- A cover letter (maximum 2 pages A4), emphasizing your specific interest, qualifications, motivations to apply for one of these positions.
- Applicants who have not had tertiary education in English can only be admitted with an IELTS-test showing a total band score of at least 6.5; TOEFL test (TOEFL-iBT) showing a score of at least 90; or a Cambridge CAE-C (CPE).
About the organisation
The Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) engages in education and research of Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering. We enable society and industry to innovate and create value using efficient, solid and sustainable technology. We are part of a ‘people-first' university of technology, taking our place as an internationally leading center for smart production, processes and devices in five domains: Health Technology, Maintenance, Smart Regions, Smart Industry and Sustainable Resources. Our faculty is home to about 2,900 Bachelor's and Master's students, 550 employees and 150 PhD candidates. Our educational and research programmes are closely connected with UT research institutes Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Center and Digital Society Institute.
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