Major corporations join forces: Used industrial products must last much longer

Press Release - april 2026

A new industrial partnership will make it easier and more attractive to reuse, repair, and remanufacture technical products.

Grundfos, Danfoss, DSV and others have joined forces to investigate how materials and components from end-of-use products can be given a new lease of life and thus utilised far more effectively than at present. For example, through a joint take-back system designed to ensure more reuse and recycling.

From scrap to new resources

When a pump or a thermostat is replaced today, the metal is often melted down, whilst fully functional components and plastic are lost. The Back2Back project consortium aims to change this significant waste of resources. The goal is to find new pathways for the industry’s products.

– We want to create a scalable infrastructure that supports longer product lifespans, for example through shared take-back schemes. This will benefit both the circular transition and companies’ resilience in the face of vulnerable supply chains and fluctuating raw material prices, says Senior Project Manager Søren Haack from Danish Technological Institute.

The idea is that an end-of-life product – such as an old pump in a company – should be transformed from scrap into new resources. One scenario could be that the pump is dismantled and handed over to a joint collection scheme. Here, a digital tool can be used to quickly assess whether the pump should be sent, for example, for remanufacturing by the manufacturer, for dismantling by a recycling company, or for maintenance by the customer.

Joint solution to ensure financial incentives

There is already experience with take-back schemes on both a large and small scale, and the next step is to use these lessons to make them even more effective. That is why the Back2Back project is exploring the potential for new collaborations across industries.

– We have a clear ambition that, through this project, we can join forces and hopefully generate the necessary scale to make reverse logistics sustainable for everyone – including financially, says Christoffer Tange Damgaard, Lead Circular Business Project Manager at Grundfos.

Initially, a joint take-back scheme will handle products from four companies in Back2Back, but the ambition is to expand it to other product groups.

Major companies across the value chain

The Back2Back partnership brings together the industrial companies Grundfos, Danfoss, Schneider Electric and Kvadrat. They are joined by logistics giant DSV and global IT company DXC Technology. The knowledge partners include Danish Technological Institute, which is leading the project, Stena Circular Consulting, as well as Aalborg University and Linköping University, which contribute research and experience from other sectors that have introduced circular strategies. For DSV, the partnership is an opportunity to develop reverse logistics as a new business area:

– We are experts in getting goods out to customers. Now it is about creating the same efficiency and service when products need to be returned. This is where our transport and tracking infrastructure can make a difference, says Peter Matthiesen, Head of Innovation at DSV.

Facts about Back2Back

• Partners: Grundfos, Danfoss, Schneider Electric, Kvadrat, DSV, DXC Technology, Stena Circular Consulting, Aalborg University, Linköping University and Danish Technological Institute (project manager).
• Funding: Back2Back is funded by TRACE, a mission-driven Danish innovation partnership supported by the Innovation Fund, which accelerates the development of circular solutions that contribute to Denmark’s climate goals.
• Objective: To investigate the possibilities for a shared, scalable infrastructure for the collection and optimal treatment of used technical products, including a digital decision-making tool designed to ensure that each product is directed towards the best R-strategy
• Key R-strategies: Back2Back focuses on the full spectrum of circular solutions, including Reuse, Repair, Refurbishment, Remanufacturing and Recycling.

Contact

Søren Haack

Senior Project Manager, Danish Technological Institute

Mobile: 72 20 23 38

Email: sorh@teknologisk.dk

René Wad Andersen

Senior Communications Consultant, Danish Technological Institute

Mobile: 72 20 14 74

Email: rea@teknologisk.dk

Photos 

Many end-of-life industrial products end up in the metal recycling container. This causes perfectly functional components and materials to be lost.

Foto: Teknologisk Institut 

Back2Back will help transform end-of-life products – such as used thermostats – from scrap into new resources.

Foto: Teknologisk Institut