Roadmaps for the manufacturing industry: an update

A shared vision on the use of raw materials and clearly defined innovation projects form the foundation for enhancing the competitiveness of the Dutch manufacturing industry, addressing vulnerabilities in the value chain, and achieving circularity goals. In the Roadmap Process, companies, government agencies, and other stakeholders work together to define the sector’s priorities and the steps needed to achieve them.

Over the past year and a half, Circonnect has facilitated the development of nine roadmaps for the manufacturing industry. Each roadmap maps out a separate product group: what are the policy goals, where are the bottlenecks, what are the opportunities, and what innovations and collaborations are needed to make the supply chain more future-proof? With the sector taking the lead, a high-quality Roadmap emerges; ownership of both the direction and the implementation.

Route maps promote physical activity

A roadmap is the outcome of a collaborative process within a single product group, in which companies, government agencies, and other relevant stakeholders identify the necessary steps and the pace at which they should be taken. The result is a vision for the next five to ten years, translated into a widely supported project portfolio and backed by analyses from reputable research institutions.

Priorities are identified, and partnerships are structured. A roadmap is a snapshot of the available knowledge, and it is continuously refined using a design-based approach in response to new insights and developments.

Offshore Wind

The Offshore Wind Roadmap translates an urgent practical need into concrete action. The first large offshore wind farms are nearing the end of their lifespan, but a systematic approach to decommissioning is lacking. Decommissioning costs are higher than estimated at the time permits were issued, and the value of the materials recovered is largely lost in the shredder. Wind turbines contain permanent magnets, the production of which is heavily concentrated in China. In addition, some of the turbines are regularly out of service due to a lack of standardized and refurbished parts, causing actual energy production to fall short of projections.

The roadmap outlines the following three specific approaches, among others:

• Dual Design: an ongoing project in which the decision between a permanent magnet and an electromagnet in the turbine design is deferred for as long as possible, thereby reducing dependence on critical raw materials without requiring a complete redesign of the structure.
• Standardization of components and repair processes, combined with a pool of remanufactured parts, so that downtime can be resolved more quickly and cost-effectively.
• Return logistics for efficient decommissioning, utilizing ships during downtime, and systematic processing of recovered components—rather than on a project-by-project basis—with a focus on preserving value.

The CIRCO Chain-Track Decommissioning (2024) brought together key players to test these potential solutions in practice, including Shell, Vattenfall, SIF, and Eneco. The findings have been directly incorporated into the roadmap’s action lines. A number of participants from the Chain Track are now collaborating on “Bridge of Europe,” an initiative led by ECHT Regie focused on nationally coordinated, circular decommissioning of wind farms, with the North Sea Canal area serving as a logistical base and the preservation of critical raw materials for Europe at its core. Some of the design challenges arising from this are being addressed through new CIRCO Chain-Tracks; the methodology that brings key players together is ideally suited for the redesign of products and supply chains.

Design considerations related to permanent magnets also affect other product groups. Similar challenges arise in HVAC systems, such as heat pumps and ventilation systems, as well as in mechanical engineering, which opens up opportunities for cross-sector collaborative approaches.

Circonnect then drew on the knowledge and insights gained from the Chain Tracks and the Roadmap Process to provide input to the Ministry of Economic Affairs regarding the most recent tender regulations and licensing requirements for offshore wind, with the aim of encouraging bidders to include decommissioning plans in their proposals.

The decommissioning challenge is also drawing regional attention. North Holland and Flevoland are home to the highest concentration of wind farms in the Netherlands and are on the cusp of a major wave of replacements; in Zeewolde alone, some 200 turbines will be removed in 2026. The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (MRA), using the ports of Amsterdam and IJmuiden as a logistical base, aims to play a pioneering role in the circular wind sector and is investigating the feasibility of a decommissioning cluster in the North Sea Canal area. To this end, the MRA is in discussions with parties from the Keten-Track.

Setting the direction together with the industry

The roadmaps are primarily developed by product teams comprising experts from the business community, government agencies, research institutions, and other stakeholders. Strategic decisions are made based on practical experience, sector-specific knowledge, and analyses of material flows and market dynamics. The work of this Product Team is presented to stakeholders on several occasions for validation and input. Those who help set the course themselves will see the outcomes as their own agenda and will therefore be more willing and able to take the next steps on their own.

Circonnect’s standardized Roadmap Approach makes it possible to link roadmaps for different product groups. This reveals shared challenges, such as dependencies on critical materials or the lack of collective reuse systems. This enables targeted collaboration across sectors: solutions are developed in synergy where it makes sense, and separately where the context differs. This results in Roadmaps that respect the specific dynamics of each product group while jointly addressing structural vulnerabilities across sectors. This provides direct input for a broader strategic agenda for the Netherlands.

Nine roadmaps, different phases

Roadmaps have now been drawn up for eight priority product groups: HVAC systems, batteries, solar PV, electrolysers, offshore wind, critical materials, military vessels, and charging infrastructure. The roadmap for machinery and tools is currently under development and will follow at a later stage. The Circular Manufacturing Industry Foundation publishes updates on the roadmaps and their progress. For each product group, it provides clarity on who is involved, the current status of the process—including which tools have been deployed, how collaboration is organized, and what initial results have been achieved.

The level of progress varies by sector. Across the board, it is clear that roadmaps are effective in helping to translate abstract ambitions into concrete action. Roadmaps for climate installations, electrolysers, and batteries have now been updated to incorporate all the lessons learned from the initial projects and pilots.

The role of Circonnect

Circonnect guides Product Teams from vision development to action plans, and from action plans to implementation. This is done using our own expertise and network, supplemented by analytical tools from renowned research institutions that provide insight into the characteristics and dynamics of a product group. For each step in the process, we have developed methodologies to address the content step by step. Relevant stakeholders are actively identified and engaged at key moments in the process.

Circonnect has trained an initial group of facilitators to lead these processes and to apply the underlying analytical tools as experts.

The approach is design-driven: by actively engaging key players and broader target groups, a shared vision of the challenge emerges, key players can assess which (innovation) projects align with their own ambitions, and a willingness to take an active role in projects is fostered. With the commitment of public and private stakeholders, a transition to actual implementation is created, ensuring that a roadmap does not remain merely on paper. Circonnect applies this same design-oriented approach to the further development of the Roadmap Approach itself. Lessons learned and insights from the nine roadmaps are continuously integrated into a scalable methodology that can be applied to additional product groups.

Strategy and execution reinforce each other

The roadmaps do not stand alone. They are closely linked to activities focused on practical implementation: CIRCO Tracks and Supply Chain Tracks within climate control systems, solar PV, electrolysers, e-batteries, offshore wind, and the maritime sector. Within these Supply Chain Tracks, companies are working together to redesign products and supply chains and to establish collective reuse systems.

At the same time, insights and experiences from these tracks feed back into the roadmaps. Pilots and follow-up projects contribute directly to their implementation. The Impact Report 2026 illustrates this interconnection, not as a linear process, but as an interplay of interventions that reinforce one another.

A starting point, not a final destination

The current roadmaps have laid an important foundation for a shared direction in an uncertain and rapidly changing environment. They serve as a starting point, and the intention is to refine them in the coming years based on what works in practice. That is precisely their strength: they are not meant to be set in stone.

No single company can do this on its own. Nor can any government. The manufacturing industry needs structures in which knowledge, capital, and policy come together—not just occasionally, but as a standard practice. The roadmaps actually organize that collaboration.