In February and March 2025, Omtre sent 3 batches of reclaimed wood from its storage to Luleå Technical University in Skellefteå for a CT scan, before the timber (and data) is sent to the fabricators in three different European countries.
Sourcing in Norway
In 2024, Omtre sourced reclaimed timber from various locations including abandoned buildings, construction sites, and the timber industry. The primary materials originated from barns over a century old and construction debris.
Located in Hønefoss, just an hour's drive from Oslo, Norway, Omtre's operations spanned a maximum two-hour radius around its main office and storage facility. However, by January 2025, Omtre ceased sourcing from abandoned barns due to escalating operational costs. Traditionally reliant on labor-intensive, low-tech methods, the high labor costs in Norway made the process financially unsustainable compared to the profits.
In response, Omtre revised its business model to selectively source materials, aiming to mitigate high deconstruction costs with more cost-efficient technologies and supportive policies.
Omtre communicated these strategic changes to research teams from Luleå University, Stuttgart University, and CITA. This collaboration ensured that the selection of timber for testing and prototyping aligned with industry relevance, maintaining a balance between diversity and commercial viability.
CT scanning technology in Sweden
Researchers at Luleå are using CT scanning technology to analyze the internal structure and performance of these materials, providing high-resolution, non-destructive characterization to determine:
By embracing the natural variability of reclaimed materials, this research is helping to develop a new resource model for the AEC sector—one that connects design, analysis, and fabrication to minimize waste, increase carbon storage in buildings, and expand the use of overlooked bio-based materials. This work is a key step toward making reclaimed wood a more viable, scalable, and sustainable option for the future of construction.
Fabrication in 3 countries, with the help of data about technical performance
After the CT scanning, the materials and data are sent to three different RAW partners where students in architecture and/or engineering will prototype
The researchers of CITA, Taltech, Luleå University and Omtre have been working already – via other ongoing EU-funded projects- on comparing non-destructive assessments. Thanks to RAW, we can continue and improve the comparison of non-destructive assessments of reclaimed timber.
As a result of previous collaboration, researchers from CITA, Luleå University and Omtre have published a conference paper where a modelling pipeline is proposed using CT-based finite element analysis to assess the quality of reclaimed timber elements. The pipeline is part of an ongoing investigation where timber stiffness and strength are evaluated both destructively and non-destructively using various measurement modalities. Accurate non-destructive assessment of the mechanical properties of reclaimed timber could optimize its use and enable repeated reuse. In subsequent research, the pipeline will be validated and simplified to aim for practical application.
To cite rhe academic paper: Tamke, M., Svilans, T., Huber, J. A., Wuyts, W., & Thomsen, M. R. (2024, June). Non-Destructive Assessment of Reclaimed Timber Elements Using CT Scanning: Methods and Computational Modelling Framework. In The International Conference on Net-Zero Civil Infrastructures: Innovations in Materials, Structures, and Management Practices (NTZR) (pp. 1275-1288). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
Coordinator: Martin Tamke, martin.tamke@kglakademi.dk
Media: Wendy Wuyts, wendy@omtre.no
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Funded by the European Union (Project Number 101161441). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council (EIC). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.