Beyond Circularity: Service lifecycle concepts

Karoliina Haapaniemi is leading the Service lifecycle concepts stream. Let’s ask her what this stream is all about, and what has happened during this time.

Why was Service lifecycle concepts selected as one of the streams? 

We are developing amazing technologies in other Beyond Circularity streams, as well as generally at Valmet, to bring sustainable value for our customers and support them in making the green transition. To ensure that these technologies perform at their best, we need related services – and that’s what we aim to design in our stream.

What are the stream’s targets and topics?

Our stream is focusing on developing service lifecycle models that complement Valmet’s technologies. We want to design new service concepts that improve our customers’ environmental performance and thus bring value throughout the lifecycle. We’re defining clear environmental KPIs so that it will be possible to authenticate customers’ environmental impact. Our ultimate measure of success will be the tangible customer sustainability improvements we help achieve.

Karoliina Haapaniemi presented the Service lifecycle concepts stream at the Beyond Circularity ecosystem event in 2024.

How has the stream progressed?

We’ve been preparing two co-innovation projects: EBITDA in collaboration with Tampere University and L2C with Åbo Akademi, and we’ve built the content and consortium for both. I’m extremely happy that we received positive funding decisions from Business Finland for both of these projects.

The EBITDA project: Environmental and circular business impacts from value chains

The EBITDA co-innovation project was designed with Tampere University. In this project, we focus on environmental and circular business impacts from value chains with our consortium and partners Kemira, L&T, Solita and ImpactOS, and Tampere University. 

The EBITDA project’s starting point was a fruitful workshop at Valmet's Beyond Circularity ecosystem event in 2023.

Tuomas Korhonen from Tampere University has been building the EBITDA content with Valmet:  

"I’m so happy and proud that we were able to acquire the funding for our joint project under Valmet’s Beyond Circularity program. In this project, we’re going to access matters of great relevance for Finnish industry’s competitiveness. In particular, the EBITDA project is about understanding what matters for the customer when making decisions about resource and energy efficiency, decreasing emissions, using renewable raw materials instead of fossil-based ones, and so on. Industrial supplier companies operate in the business-to-business sector, and their customer contact point is often a professional buyer. To grow sustainably, these supplier companies need to be aware of how their customer makes purchase or investment decisions, and how the customer’s decision makers balance different alternatives. A key point is definitely to thoroughly understand how the offered solutions create value for the customer. Finally, as one industry player can only do so much, cooperation is needed in the form of joint strategies to make the green transition happen."

The L2C project: Data-driven lifecycle services and innovative models and technologies for closing material loops in industrial processes

The L2C project – Linear to Circular through Sustainable Management Approaches and Data-Driven Business Models - is a co-innovation project with Åbo Akademi. It aims to unlock two key opportunities in the circular economy: data-driven lifecycle services and innovative models and technologies for closing material loops in industrial processes. A central focus of the project is the identification, evaluation, and transformation of linear business segments into sustainable, circular systems. Additionally, the project will refine data-driven lifecycle service concepts that can create scalable, efficient business models and frameworks.

"The L2C project represents the important steps needed to be taken in the circular economy. By integrating data-driven approaches and innovative technologies, we are not only aiming at transforming traditional industries but also creating scalable, sustainable solutions that will benefit businesses and society globally. This project can through the powerful collaboration between academia and industry drive this meaningful change", says Professor Magnus Hellström, Professor of Industrial Management at Åbo Akademi University.

The consortium consists of leading companies and universities: Valmet, Auramarine, Enersense, Forcit, Meyer Turku as well as Åbo Akademi University and the University of Turku. PBI Research Institute serves as the project coordinator.