Topolytics wins UKRI funding to improve manufacturing resource efficiency

Posted on 21 Oct 2022 by The Manufacturer

Topolytics joins consortium of UKRI winners that will create 1000 jobs & reduce 300,000 tonnes of manufacturing CO2 emissions.

Topolytics, an award-winning data analytics platform that makes the world’s waste visible, verifiable and valuable, has announced it has been selected as a winner in the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Sustainable Smart Factory competition, where it has been awarded funding to help improve energy efficiency, productivity and the sustainability of manufacturing processes.

The grant comes as part of UKRI’s Made Smarter Innovation Challenge, and body awarded 12 organisations with a combined grant of £14m towards projects that harness digital innovations, to boost energy and carbon efficiency within manufacturing.

Topolytics is a data analytics business that is making waste material supply chains visible, verifiable and valuable. Through its WasteMap® AI technology, it can develop a visual map of useful, reusable manufacturing products that can be extracted from the waste system and fed back into the production.


Topolytics WasteMap platform

Topolytics’ WasteMap platform makes the world’s waste visible, verifiable and valuable. Image courtesy of Topolytics


Together, the 12 winners are projected to create 1,000 jobs, and reduce manufacturing CO2 emissions by 300,000 tonnes a year, which is the equivalent to taking nearly 65,000 cars off UK roads.

“We are delighted that UKRI has recognised the significant role our technology plays in developing more sustainable manufacturing processes. Every year the world produces billions of tonnes of waste, which often ends up in landfill as organisations don’t have a clear way to track and manage the waste they produce. This is critical to the environment, and Topolytics is here to address this challenge. Our work is looking to generate visibility of waste from raw material inputs, through a production process into the external waste system. By doing so, we can generate insights that can drive operational and resource efficiencies, and measure and reduce carbon impact,” said Michael Groves, CEO of Topolytics.

As part of the project, Topolytics teamed up with the Centre for Engineering Education and Development (CeeD) and set out to explore and understand the waste challenge and opportunity across the Scottish manufacturing sector.  Through surveys they found that most manufacturers do not have visibility into waste material once it enters the downstream, yet 90% said placed a high priority on knowing more about what happens to their waste. While 75% of companies stated the importance of reporting to customers and other stakeholders about waste and resource efficiency.

“We are delighted to be supporting this hugely important project. CeeD and our members care deeply about Net Zero – its significance but also the business opportunities it can bring. Manufacturing companies are at various stages of their waste journey and the WasteMap project will offer businesses valuable insights into how they can both better understand and manage the waste they produce through the full lifecycle of these materials, ultimately reducing their environmental impact,” Joe Pacitti, Managing Director of CeeD.

Topolytics will be showcasing its WasteMap platform on Innovation Alley at Smart Factory Expo on 16-17 November. Join us there to find out more about this significantly worthwhile project.

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