PhD position on Ecodesign for Human‑Robotic Re‑ and Demanufacturing

Overview

The Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) research group of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KU Leuven conducts research on sustainable product and process design across the full product life cycle. The group focuses on methodologies and technologies that support circular economy strategies such as reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling.

Research activities combine ecodesign, manufacturing/robotic systems, software/computer vision tools, and sustainability assessment, and are carried out in close collaboration with industrial partners and public organizations. The group actively contributes to European and international research initiatives and provides a multidisciplinary research environment for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers working on the transition towards more sustainable production and consumption systems.

Project

This PhD position is part of the academic network working on ecodesign, an international research and training initiative. The network aims to advance ecodesign methodologies and manufacturing strategies that enable circular economy practices at industrial scale, in line with European sustainability and resource efficiency policy objectives.

Research background

Re and demanufacturing of electromechanical products is increasingly recognized as a key enabler for circular economy strategies such as reuse, repair, refurbishing, and remanufacturing. However, current re and demanufacturing processes still face major challenges due to product variability, process complexity, limited automation scalability, and high operational costs. While robotic disassembly technologies have progressed, existing approaches typically focus on isolated process steps and do not sufficiently account for human robot cooperation, nor do they fully integrate sustainability considerations into product design decisions.

Research objectives

The objective of this PhD project is to develop an ecodesign framework for electromechanical components and systems that enables efficient and robust human robot cooperative re and demanufacturing processes. The research will explicitly address design trade offs between durability, ease of automation, human intervention, and sustainability performance.

Validation and industrial relevance

The developed methodologies will be validated through industrial case studies in collaboration with European manufacturing and remanufacturing companies. For this the PhD includes two mandatory international secondments (2-3 months), providing direct exposure to industrial design practice, advanced manufacturing technologies, and real world remanufacturing constraints. The objective is that the information acquired through the proposed methodologies throughout the design process, to assess and steer product design, is also included in the Digital Product Passport to support re
- and demanufacturing activities. Diverse robotic setups will be available to validate both design improvements and the value of the acquired information and proposed data structures in the newly established remanufacturing light house laboratories at Flanders Make @ KU Leuven, in Belgium, Heverlee, managed by the LCE research group. Through this combination of methodological development, experimental validation in the laboratories, and industrial collaboration, the objective is to generate actionable design knowledge that supports the goal of advancing scalable, sustainable, and policy-aligned circular design and manufacturing strategies.

Profiel

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  Education:
  You do not hold a doctoral degree. You hold a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline, obtained with at least distinction (cum laude) or an internationally recognized equivalent, as required for admission to the KULeuven Doctoral School.
• Technical
  
  skills:
  Practical experience in the mechanical design of electromechanical systems, combined with robot programming skills and hands‑on experience with industrial or collaborative robots.
• Communication: You communicate effectively in English, both orally and in writing; knowledge of Dutch is considered an asset, but is not required.
• Research focus: You have a strong interest in ecodesign, re‑and demanufacturing, and human‑robot collaboration in an industrial context.
• Drive: You are motivated to conduct doctoral research and to work in a multidisciplinary and international research environment.
• Hands‑on approach: You are willing to carry out experimental research and participate in mandatory international secondments at our industrial partners.
• International mobility rule: To foster international exchange, at the time of recruitment, you must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work or studies) in Belgium for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately preceding 01/10/2026.

Aanbod

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