Repair and Remanufacturing using Additive Manufacturing - PhD positions

Repair and Remanufacturing using Additive Manufacturing - 3 PhD positions

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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 life cycles, 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…