The project ‘Nordic Piloting Program for Circularity in Technical Building Solutions’ has brought together over 130 companies from the building value chain, representing technical equipment manufacturers, property owners, architects, contractors, distributors, and dismantlers. The project aims to accelerate the creation of circular business solutions for technical building equipment by creating an arena and actively matching and sparring companies towards value chain wide collaboration. Technical building equipment makes up the third largest emission source in the lifecycle of buildings after energy and main construction materials.
The project is now moving to the next phase and kicks off eight practical pilot projects in which 2-5 companies come together to test circular solutions in different building projects. The companies include Vasakronan, KONE, Swegon, Skanska, Multiconsult, Demontera, Lindab, NollaE, Oras, ASSA ABLOY, Staaltro, SRV, and CapMan Real Estate. The pilots test a variety of circular business models including reuse, refurbishment, and Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) across five different product categories.
The diversity represented in the piloting companies creates a unique opportunity for cross-product category, cross-value chain and cross-border knowledge exchange. The piloting groups will be able to share experiences and reflect with each other along the piloting journey, as well as enjoy sparring sessions.
The circular pilot projects:
Disassembling HVAC systems for reuse and refurbishment
(Swegon, Vasakronan, Skanska Sweden, Demontera, Lindab)
Evaluates the process and costs of dismantling HVAC products in two pilot sites in Sweden.
Reused access system
(ASSA ABLOY, Certego)
Explores customer needs and distribution models to build a scalable business model for circular solutions.
Refurbishing access solutions
(ASSA ABLOY, Tampereen Tilapalvelut, City of Tampere)
Tests circularity in practice by refurbishing ABLOY products and optimizing their reuse process.
Enhancing circular economy of HVAC systems
(Nolla_E, Kotkan Julkiset Kiinteistöt Oy, Skanska Sweden)
Demonstrates reuse of air handling units in pilot sites in Finland and Sweden to develop scalable solutions.
Elevator modernization
(KONE, CapMan Real Estate)
Modernizes elevators in a CapMan property in Oslo by retaining viable components and replacing only outdated ones.
Faucets and showers as a service
(Oras, SRV)
Pilots a PaaS model that reduces water waste, extends product life, and leverages predictive maintenance.
Reusing cable trays
(CapMan, Insenti, Bevar/Øst-Riv, Staaltro)
Develops and implements a process to dismantle, assess, and prepare used cable trays from demolition projects for resale through wholesalers.
The reuse tool for electrical equipment
(Multiconsult, NPRO, Trondheim Municipality)
Develops and tests a reuse matrix to assess and visualize the circular potential of electrical components.
Background
The ‘Nordic Piloting Program for Circularity in Technical Building Solutions’ is led and coordinated by Combient Pure and supported by Nordic Innovation. The project started in November 2024 and has brought together the Nordic construction industry through open value chain sessions. The project partners are ASSA ABLOY, Cradlenet, Demontera, KONE, Multiconsult, NollaE, Skanska, Swegon, and Vasakronan.
Once the pilots have been carried out, the project will culminate in open review sessions and a final event sharing findings, best practices, and policy recommendations with the broader industry and public stakeholders.
The project is supported under the ‘Innovative Solutions for 2030’ program.
