Trends and research challenges in remanufacturing

Remanufacturing is one of the critical elements moving our economy toward one that is circular. Today, remanufacturing is attracting growing attention worldwide. Meanwhile, despite its potential in terms of its effects on both environment and economy, remanufacturing has not yet been sufficiently exploited. This indicates that there exist both drivers for and barriers to an increase in remanufacturing in economies. Although there are both technological and non-technological requirements for remanufacturing, R&D is unavoidable for its promotion. This article outlines trends, drivers, and barriers for remanufacturing, and presents reviews of studies on selected topics in remanufacturing. The selected R&D topics in this article are product design for remanufacturing, additive manufacturing for remanufacturing, operations management in remanufacturing, and business models for remanufacturing.