EU project MASTT2040Roadmap for the manufacturing industry - Steinbeis Europa Zentrum contributed its expertise in foresight and ecosystem development to the MASTT2040 project

Europe is currently impacted by two major, interdependent transitions, driven by digitalisation and by the need to be more sustainable and resilient. These transitions are already having major impacts on the European manufacturing industry driving more digitised industrial production and leading to new business models such as Manufacturing as a Service. At the same time the move towards more climate neutral, circular and resilient industrial production is radically changing how manufacturers develop, produce and sell products.

These fundamental changes are challenging existing linear models based on centralised manufacturing approaches. As a result of this the MASTT2040 project has been investigating how distributed MaaS approaches can be exploited by industry to provide more flexible, resilient and efficient manufacturing of products while also considering how industry can embrace the Circular Economy and more human-centred approaches  to contribute to a more sustainable and human-centric economy and society in Europe and worldwide.

The two-year MASTT2040-project was funded by the European Commission’s current Research, Technology and Innovation Funding Programme Horizon 2020. It was of strategic relevance to the European Commission and aimed to investigate how approaches that advance Manufacturing as a Service (MaaS) can be fostered for the benefit of European industry as a whole.  To reflect this, it applied a number of participatory and forward-looking tools and methods aiming to depict a consistent and realistic picture and at the same time challenge existing assumptions about the future of manufacturing. Based on this, the project gives concrete recommendations to foster MaaS for the benefit of European economy, society and the environment.

As a crucial partner in the MASTT2040 project, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum contributed its expertise in foresight and ecosystem development. It participated in the development of scenarios and industry recommendations, and coordinated the roadmapping activities. This included identifying and connecting relevant stakeholders from a variety of European expert communities Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is active in, such as Factories of the Future (EFFRA), Advanced Data and Robotics (ADRA), Manufacturing Data Spaces, and the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) for an effective knowledge transfer between relevant projects and initiatives.

Main achievements

To source, process and compile the insights needed, MASTT2040 employed a comprehensive set of strategic foresight methods in an inclusive and participatory manner by actively engaging key stakeholders within the MaaS, Standardisation and Circular Economy communities. The related activities of the study were the following:

• “Scanning and scoping” identified and analysed existing best practices of MaaS approaches to advance circularity, decarbonisation, and sustainability of industrial production. A comprehensive casebook was elaborated that illustrates real industrial use cases.
• “Envisioning & Reframing” collected future developments and trends, related to manufacturing industry but also to wider economic, societal end environmental aspects that participants found most impactful and relevant. This resulted in four co-created future scenarios that illustrate how MaaS could evolve by 2040, exploring key transformations in resilience, human-centric innovation and sustainable, data-driven production.
• Based on the information gathered in the previous project phases, “strategizing and planning” developed a roadmap for EU manufacturing industry to more successfully exploit the MaaS paradigm to become more competitive and a the same time more circular, sustainable and human-centric. The roadmap was developed by two interactive workshops where a future 2040 vision was drafted and, based on this, an action plan and recommendations for industry and policy in the short-, medium-, and long-term were elaborated.
• In the final project phase, “sensemaking and recommendations”, the project partners comprehensively analysed standardization needs of manufacturing industry, specifically focusing on the role of data as this is the most vital aspect for MaaS. This resulted in the report “Recommendations for Industrial Data Standardisation in Manufacturing” that delivers evidence for policy makers, standardization practitioners and industry to facilitate the adoption of MaaS in industry.

During all project activities as well as the final event that took place in Brussels in October 2025, it became evident that the topic of MaaS is highly relevant to industry and policy makers. The results generated will thus contribute to enhancing MaaS uptake and the advancement of European manufacturing industry but also to increasing impact of circular, sustainable and human-centric approaches in Europe.

All documents elaborated during the project are available from the project website.

• Funding: European Commission, Horizon Europe
• Total funding for all partners: EUR 971,087
• Project duration: 01/2024 – 12/2025
• Participating countries: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland
• Project partners: Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, DE; Sirris, BE; Cluster COMET, IT; PARP, PL; THHINK BV, NL; 4CF The Futures Literacy Company, PL

Links

MASTT2040 Project - Mastt2040

Videos

MASTT2040 – First Scenario of European Manufacturing

MASTT2040 – Second Scenario of European Manufacturing

Scenarios of European Manufacturing - Mastt2040