The average lifespan of a building is 39 years — in Europe, it is only 25-30 years — and the main reason for demolition is obsolescence. This is why there is a large amount of construction and demolition waste (CDW) — representing approximately 25-30% of all waste in Europe —, in addition to that generated in current construction works The recycling rate for CDW is relatively high (above 75%). This activity generated $126.89 billion in 2019 — Europe contributed the largest share, almost two-fifths of the total global market — and is projected to reach $149.19 billion by 2027. Unfortunately, many of the most valuable materials in CDW cannot be meaningfully separated and end up in landfills.
To this end, Reincarnate will create a Circular Potential Information Management (CP-IM) platform and a set of innovations to use it. The platform will provide a digital representation of building products and materials with information on their life cycle, and will allow assessing their potential for life extension and reuse, as well as predicting circular value streams. Reincarnate will then generate ten technical innovations using CP-IM data. From solutions for building inspection, to construction and dismantling planning, and identification and classification of CDW — these solutions will draw upon emerging digital technologies, such as digital twin representation, artificial intelligence, and robotic automation. 3 empirically proven social science insights will allow fostering widespread adoption of reused high-quality construction products and materials as well as business eco-system development frameworks to combine actors within sustainable value chains.
All innovations will be demonstrated on eleven selected real-world projects and value chains. Furthermore, business process guidelines and an e-learning platform will be developed to drive the dissemination and exploitation of Reincarnate’s results.
