University of Twente Secures €13.6 Million to Drive Circular 3D Printing and Transparent AI Research

University of Twente Secures €13.6 Million to Drive Circular 3D Printing and Transparent AI Research

(IN BRIEF) The University of Twente has won €13.6 million in 2024 NWA ORC grants to lead two major consortia: Add-reAM, leveraging 3D printing to enable industrial repair and remanufacturing for a circular economy, and DECIDE, creating transparent, citizen-centric AI systems. UT also joins four other projects—JUST ART, NanoMedNL, STRONGER2GETHER, and BIO-COMPaSS—tackling climate justice, nanomedicine, youth mental health, and personalized health feedback. These efforts reflect the NWA ORC’s mission to unite academia, society, and industry to address urgent social issues.

(PRESS RELEASE) ENSCHEDE, 3-Jul-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — University of Twente (UT) has secured €13.6 million in the 2024 NWA ORC funding round to lead two flagship research projects on sustainable manufacturing and democratic AI. UT will also participate as a consortium partner in four additional initiatives addressing health, climate, and well-being.

Add-reAM: Advancing a Circular Economy with 3D Printing
Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Ian Gibson (Faculty of Engineering Technology), the Add-reAM project harnesses Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) to repair, remanufacture, and extend the life of industrial components. By integrating novel design strategies and digital toolchains, researchers, industry partners, and municipalities will co-create scalable workflows for in-field refurbishment, dramatically cutting waste and emissions across the Dutch economy.

DECIDE: Democratizing AI for Transparent Decision-Making
Prof. Dr. Mieke Boon (Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social sciences) heads the DECIDE consortium, which aims to restore citizen agency in AI-driven contexts such as healthcare and public services. Drawing on expertise from computer science, philosophy, ethics, psychology, law, public administration, and business, plus direct involvement of citizens, the project will develop next-generation AI systems that explain their reasoning and empower users with “intelligence-enhancing” tools—ensuring AI serves a fair societal transformation.

UT as a Consortium Partner
Beyond these lead roles, UT researchers will contribute to four more NWA ORC consortia:

• JUST ART: Collaborating with artists to catalyze climate-justice action through creative interventions.
• NanoMedNL: Accelerating nanomedicine development via shared platforms for pooling and disseminating knowledge.
• STRONGER2GETHER: Enhancing adolescents’ mental well-being by reinforcing social support networks.
• BIO-COMPaSS: Exploring how personalized biological-age feedback can motivate healthier lifestyles.

These projects fall under the ORC programme line of the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA), which brings together scientists, citizens, policymakers, and businesses to co-develop solutions for pressing societal challenges.

Media Contact:

K.W. Wesselink – Schram MSc (Kees)
Science Communication Officer (available Mon-Fri)
+31 53 489 9311
k.w.wesselink@utwente.nl<
Building: Spiegel Tuin

SOURCE: University of Twente