GRACE is a strategic research program, a so-called research profile, with support from the Knowledge Foundation, JTH and the industry. Academia and industry are collaborating to succeed in the green transition in the manufacturing industry with the help of integrated and platform-enabled product realisation.

Why GRACE?

The European Green Deal means net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and economic growth decoupled from resource use. In order to succeed, mobilization is required both in academia and industry. Future competitiveness and sustainability in the manufacturing industry is closely linked to the ability to integrate product and production development. In addition, with extended product life cycles, new user scenarios and circular manufacturing in combination with new emerging technologies, the complexity of products, production and product realisation processes will increase. The possibility of realising different solutions that support sustainability and circularity is largely determined during the product realisation process and further research to support this is needed.

What is the goal of GRACE?

The overall goal of GRACE is to support the manufacturing industry's long-term ability to succeed in the green transition through integrated and platform-enabled product realisation. "Integrated" means that collaboration between functions, people, systems is supported, both technically and organizationally. "Platform-enabled" means that strategic assets, such as components and knowledge, are reused in products and processes to minimize resource use while maximizing customer value. GRACE will contribute with new knowledge, new and better processes and support for product realisation projects, where sustainability and circularity aspects are taken into account right from the start.

In close collaboration with the industry

The content of GRACE has been developed in collaboration with the manufacturing industry to ensure a high degree of relevance. In addition to the eleven industrial partners, four network partners participate in the profile, which are important for the results to reach more companies.

The work in the profile GRACE started on 1 April 2024 and will continue for eight years. Within the profile, a number of different research projects will be initiated. In order to keep the activities of GRACE together, a collaboration arena will be created, a meeting place for both knowledge creation and knowledge sharing.

Strategic initiative

GRACE is a strategic initiative that gives JTH the opportunity to profile and position research in a selected area in the long term. In this case, the focus is on integrated and platform-enabled product realisation to support the green transition, which is a central part of the area of strength in:sure – integrated product and production development for sustainability and resilience.