UPwood

2026 - 2027

Project partners:

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
- TT-Prof. Moritz Dörstelmann – Professorship Digital Design and Fabrication (DDF)

University of Freiburg 
- Prof. Stefan Pauliuk, PhD – Sustainable Energy and Material Flow Management (IndEcol)
- Prof. Dr. Rebekka Volk – Sustainability Assessment of Technical Systems (SAT)
- Prof. Dr. Philipp Späth – Sustainability Governance (SuGov)

Industry partners
- PreZero Holz GmbH
- Zirkular GmbH
- Zimmerei Grünspecht e.G.
- Grünhof GmbH

UPwood develops AI- and robotics-supported approaches to upcycle reclaimed and residual wood into durable, load-bearing timber building components for a regional bioeconomy. Instead of downcycling or incineration, the project aims to establish high-value reuse pathways by connecting material availability, design strategies, and sustainability assessment across the full resource and value chain.

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The interdisciplinary consortium combines computational design and AI-assisted planning with regional material flow analysis, environmental and techno-economic assessment, and research on business models and policy conditions. Together with industry partners, UPwood will develop and evaluate design options based on real reclaimed-wood streams, produce a concrete case-study building concept, and initiate an innovation ecosystem to support future scaling and implementation.

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UPwood is funded by the Innovationscampus Nachhaltigkeit (ICN).