Smart symbiosis - collaboration for common resource flows

The aim with this project is to develop smart symbiosis solutions. Smart symbiosis connects energy and material flows with the purpose of creating resource efficiency and contribute to creating innovation and integration into the value chain. Growing ideas about circular economics imply that there is great potential to link many more flows and to find new synergies by including whole value chains. Smart symbiosis will be further developed by combining mathematical modeling, network analysis and value-added studies to analyze interfaces where not only material and energy-efficient processes meet but also stakeholders' interests and values and where preconditions exist for e.g. common business models. The analysis will be done with a norm critical perspective, leading to a framework for smart symbiosis that includes how resource flows can and should be used from a techno-economic and climate perspective and how networks can be used as resources to achieve efficient resource use.

The project is part of the national interdisciplinary graduate school in Energy systems and funded by the Swedish Energy Agency.