Oulu’s cluster development project identified cutting-edge expertise and international growth potential in circular economy and automotive industry

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The Automotive & Circular Economy Clusters (ACE Clusters) project, co-funded by the European Union and the Regional Council of Oulu, was completed on August 31.

The journey of the Oulu Automotive Cluster and Circular Cluster Oulu, which were the targets of development, culminated in the award of international EUCLES bronze certificates. During the project, the activities, renown, and visibility of both clusters were developed both domestically and in international networks.

Bronze certificates are testament to quality and international cooperation

Both clusters participated in the EUCLES certification process during the spring of 2025. The process consisted of a series of workshops and a final interview with the cluster managers. The certification process reviewed the cluster’s organisation and current status, previous results, resources, and strategy. The quality criteria for the certificate were met. In addition, the clusters received a useful report for further development, in which different segments of the clusters were compared with other certified clusters in the same field. Oulu Automotive Cluster received its certificate on May 22, 2025, and Circular Cluster Oulu on June 27, 2025.

Strategic forethought and sustainability work

Strategic forethought and sustainability work were carried out jointly for companies in both clusters. Forethought focused on anticipating business operations in line with circular economy. Sustainability work was carried out in the transport sector and included passenger transport, freight transport, and waste management. Sustainability work was done in cooperation with Macon Oy and the VALUE project on sustainable and respondible business. Work for sustainability in the transport sector will continue in the future, and measures will be implemented based on information received from companies and their stakeholder representatives.

Circular Cluster Oulu

Three regionally important themes were identified for Circular Cluster Oulu: circular economy in concrete, circular economy in textiles, and smart waste management. These sectors have a significant number of companies, strong expertise, and innovation and development potential in the Oulu region. Business cooperation and networks were developed during the project in various events across different sectors.

The most significant events for the circular economy cluster were the Circular Economy Arena as part of the Northern Industry 2024 trade fair, the Sustainable Growth 2024 partnership, and the World’s Biggest Virtual Company Visit, which also involved companies promoting circular economy in the region, as well as vocational secondary education and higher education institutions. These events provided an opportunity to showcase the Oulu region’s circular economy expertise and the need for skilled workforce in circular economy on a national level. More than 13,000 people participated in the World’s Biggest Virtual Company Visit.

Circular economy related services in BusinessOulu in the future

Future measures can be planned based on a survey and interviews conducted with companies and stakeholders. It was suggested that hydrogen and biogas, areas in which Oulu has significant research expertise, should be added to the cross-sectoral industry-specific events that were considered relevant. Systemic planning in line with circular economy and joint internationalisation measures by cluster operators will be important also in the future. Support for new startups in planning their business in line with the circular economy model was also highlighted.

Thematic circular economy events will continue, and the Circular Economy Arena is planned to be held again as part of the Northern Industry trade fair in May 2026. The City of Oulu’s circular economy roadmap will be presented to local businesses at a separate event, and the sustainability work in the transport sector that was started during the project will continue. As the circular economy is a broad operating and economic model that affects all industries, BusinessOulu has found it sensible to decentralise the responsibility for promoting circular economy to several people with designated areas of responsibility. The activities are coordinated by Päivi Lehto. The circular economy cluster’s designated newsletter will be published for the last time in October 2025, after which a separate section will be reserved for circular economy news in the Cleantech & Industry newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here (in Finnish only for the time being).

Oulu Automotive Cluster

The main objective of the Oulu Automotive Cluster during the project period was to reform the cluster’s operations and define clear thematic priorities. Smart and autonomous heavy-duty vehicles, supported by NUVE-Lab and OuluZone, for example, were identified as an important thematic spearhead. Another key theme was application-specific vehicles.

The selection was based on feedback from companies and stakeholders, as well as knowledge of Oulu’s strengths in the automotive industry internationally. The selection was also made using a thesis written for the cluster (Development of the Oulu Automotive Cluster and the Views of Companies, Pasi Karjalainen, LUT University). Both of the selected spearhead themes are related to the development of smart transport and are also profitable in terms of Oulu’s strengths and SMEs.

Two broader measures were implemented for the spearhead themes

A collaboration project with the University of Oulu resulted in the development of an SDV application development and testing platform, which remained the property of BusinessOulu, the cluster coordinator. The platform is freely available to companies and educational institutions to utilise, enabling the testing of automotive applications in various simulation environments in Oulu. Further development of the platform is also possible.

For the theme of smart and autonomous heavy-duty vehicles, a Europe-wide market survey was conducted and an action plan for international measures was created. The project was carried out in collaboration with Bearing Point Finland. The survey identified the most relevant European technology hubs, clusters, projects, and research institutes from Oulu’s perspective.

Based on the survey data and the wishes and objectives of the cluster operators, an action plan was drawn up for 2026–2028. The plan emphasises building long-term partnerships, making Oulu and the cluster more widely known, and the practical benefits for companies and research institutes.

National and international cooperation

At the national level, cooperation was intensified with, among others, the Tampere Automotive and Vehicle Technology Cluster. In terms of business cooperation, an innovation cooperation project was carried out with Elektrobit Automotive Finland, which also led to partnerships between companies. Elektrobit also participated in an event for teaching staff related to ensuring competence, together with the Oulu Automotive Cluster.

International cooperation focused primarily on Germany, the Netherlands, and Slovakia. The Eindhoven technology cluster in the Netherlands, in particular, has been identified as a potential partner, and international activities will be concentrated more on the Netherlands in the future. Eindhoven and the surrounding areas are a good fit with Oulu’s cutting-edge expertise. Based on the results of the thesis done for the project, Europe remains the most important market, but the United States and Asia are also potential growth areas for the future.

Oulu Automotive Cluster becomes part of ICT Oulu

During the project, the communications of the Oulu Automotive Cluster were already made part of ICT Oulu’s field of operation. BusinessOulu personnel will continue to be involved in various implementations in their respective areas of expertise, ranging from international operations to product development and testing. Niina Heikkinen is coordinating the overall project.

Upcoming events

Drive-In Breakfast, 23 Oct 2025 – Register here.

CircuTex 5, 15 Dec 2025 – Register here.

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