Turning Waste into a Valuable Resource

How can businesses use resources more efficiently and unlock new opportunities for collaboration? This is the question addressed by the European Erasmus+ project SymbioTech – The European Alliance for Advancing Circular Economy via Industrial Digital Symbiosis. Coordinated by AGH University of Krakow, the project runs from November 2024 to October 2027. IMC Krems is part of the international consortium of universities, businesses and innovation organisations, contributing its expertise in artificial intelligence and digital technologies. 

At the heart of the initiative is industrial symbiosis: cooperation between companies, aimed at the reuse of waste and by-products in the production processes of other entities such as materials, energy, waste heat or unused production. What one company no longer needs may become a valuable resource for another. Digital technologies and AI help identify these opportunities and encourage new forms of collaboration.

Knowledge Camp prepares partners for pilot phase

From 20 to 22 October 2026, international project partners and external experts gathered in Ostrava, Czechia, for the SymbioTech Knowledge Camp for Trainers. IMC Krems was represented by Sarita Paudel, Research Professor and SymbioTech Project Lead, and Carla Gabriela Rădulescu from the institute of Digitalization and Infomatics. The team of Sarita Paudel (Project Lead), Rubén Ruiz Torrubiano and Deepak Dhungana from the institute are working in the SymbioTech project.
The event focused on the project's seven training modules for higher education and vocational education and training, as well as its AI-assisted digital platform. Participants were trained and prepared to use the learning materials and digital applications for the upcoming pilot phase. The training modules will then be tested in real workplace environments through Work-Based Learning activities involving participating companies.
IMC Krems has developed a dedicated higher education module entitled Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Predict Material Flows and Optimise Supply Chains. It equips future industrial symbiosis managers with the skills needed to use AI and digital solutions to predict material flows and optimise supply chains.
"Industrial symbiosis offers businesses significant opportunities to use resources more efficiently. The key is making available resources and potential partners visible. This is precisely where digital technologies and artificial intelligence can make an important contribution," explains Sarita Paudel.

AI platform connects businesses and resources

One of the project's key outcomes is the SymbioTech AI-assisted Platform, developed by IMC Krems. It helps businesses make their available resources visible, identify potential partners and explore opportunities to exchange materials and other operational capacities.
For example, by-products, surplus materials or waste from one company may be valuable to another. Spare warehouse space, machinery or transport capacity can also offer opportunities for collaboration. The AI-assisted platform helps identify such potential matches, turning previously unused resources or waste into valuable assets.
"Artificial intelligence can act as an intelligent matchmaker. It helps identify connections between the resources of different businesses that might otherwise remain undiscovered. Our aim is to unlock this potential and contribute to a more resource-efficient economy," says Paudel.

Development of the platform has been completed, and it was successfully presented and demonstrated at the Knowledge Camp in Ostrava. The next step is the pilot phase, during which the training modules and digital solutions will be tested and further refined under real business conditions.

Further information:

Project website: https://symbiotech-project.eu/
Digital platform: https://symbiotech-platform.eu/