Division of Forest and Forest Resources

Circular use of wood for increased sustainability and innovation (circWOOD)

Photo: Lone Ross

Active Last updated: 13.02.2023
End: jul 2026
Start: jan 2022

circWOOD will investigate aspects of wood use in the Norwegian economy, with particular emphasis on the reuse of wood in construction projects, and recycled wood as raw material in today's wood industry.

Project participants

Lizhen Huang / NTNU Erik Trømborg / NMBU Hanne Sjølie / Høgskolen i Innlandet Roja Modaresi / Treteknisk Kathrine Torday Gulden Erik Larnøy Nhat Strøm-Andersen Kristina Bringedal Gedde Aasmund Bunkholt / Trefokus Kaja Heltorp / NMBU Daniel Beat Müller / NTNU Wendy Wuyts / NTNU Shumaila Khatri / Høgskolen Innlandet Tom Erik Thorkildsen / NMBU Mathias Røed Hanssen / NMBU Andreas Stenstad / Treteknisk

From the project announcement Autumn 2021: NIBIO research manager and project leader for circWOOD, Lone Ross (left), former Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Iselin Nybø (V), and project coordinator for sirkTRE, Kristine Nore (OMTRE). Photo: Erling Fløistad

About sirkTRE

circWOOD is an integral part of sirkTRE that is coordinated by OMTRE. In sirkTRE, forest owners, the timber industry, architects, consultants, contractors, waste and recycling operators, property owners and developers, research institutions and standardization bodies will ensure the reuse of recycled wood. The initiator of the project is the Norwegian Wood Cluster, to contribute to increased value creation of the Norwegian forest and timber resource.

In addition to the innovation center sirkINN and the research and competence project circWOOD, sirkTRE is made up of four other sub-projects. These are: sirkHELTRE, which will focus on reuse of solid wood-based solutions, sirkRESSURS, where the main focus is reduced resource use, sirkREAL for realization of projects with circular wood products, solutions and designs for reuse, and sirkTEK where new technology and new digital production will be developed.

The three-year project sirkTRE has a total budget of more than NOK 180 million, where the support from Innovation Norway, the Norwegian Research Council and SIVA through the Green Platform Initiative amounts to more than NOK 105 million. sirkTRE starts up in January 2022.

Find sirkTRE's website here

The use of wood in Norway has long traditions. At the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo, aspen in the form of exterior / interior cladding and pillars dominate. Photo: Lone Ross

External project link	sirkTRE website
Start - end date	01.01.2022 - 01.07.2026
Project manager	Lone Ross
Division	Division of Forest and Forest Resources
Department	Wood Technology
Partners	NTNU, NMBU, Høgskolen i Innlandet, Treteknisk, Trefokus, Ragn-Sells, Oslotre, Norwegian Wood Cluster, Omtre, Norges Skogeierforbund, Veidekke Entreprenør, Statsbygg and Byggevareindustrien
Funding source	Innovation Norway, the Norwegian Research Council and SIVA through The Green Platform Initiative.

In Norway, around 12 million m3 timber are logged per year. According to the national strategy for the forest and timber industry, SKOG22, there are sustainable grounds to increase the amount of timber to at least 15 million m3 per year. However, if our society is to succeed in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, it is expected that the need for resources will be significantly greater than that.

To increase the use of wood in construction, short-distance raw materials are needed. Recycled wood will be a crucial input factor through new reuse and material recycling solutions. Increased innovation and value creation must go hand in hand to take advantage of the opportunities recycled wood has to offer.

circWOOD

In order to close knowledge gaps related to the availability and quality of recycled wood, circWOOD will investigate aspects of wood use in the Norwegian economy, with particular emphasis on the reuse of wood in construction projects, and recycled wood as raw material in today's wood industry. Research results, especially related to resource access and material flows, will be linked to the facilitation of circular flow of goods, handling, environmental impact, design and production of wood in, and towards, relevant markets in Norway and abroad. circWOOD will follow the life cycle of Norwegian recycled wood and find new ways to make use of this resource.

The project will analyze the sustainability and environmental footprint of the wood-value chain based on strategies and new technologies that contribute to circularity. circWOOD will identify and investigate ways in which processes can be simplified, by using the latest methods for digital collection, analysis and sharing of data. In addition, the project will address the underlying political frameworks and study the economic impact they have.

circWOOD is an integral part of sirkTRE that aims to lift the wood industry and the construction industry towards the holistic circular, green shift.