Manufacturing as a Service: A Cornerstone for Sustainable Industrial Production
Europe’s industrial sector is at a crossroads. The twin pressures of global competitiveness and climate neutrality are forcing manufacturers to rethink not only how products are made, but also how production itself is organised and delivered. In this context, Manufacturing as a Service (MaaS) is emerging as a powerful model to support the broader sustainability and resilience of industrial production.
MaaS supports a move away from rigid, asset-heavy production structures towards flexible, service-oriented manufacturing networks. Instead of owning and operating all production assets, companies can access manufacturing capacity, capabilities, and expertise on demand. This shift improves resource efficiency, lowers entry barriers for SMEs, and enables better utilisation of existing industrial infrastructure. From a sustainability perspective, MaaS reduces idle capacity, avoids unnecessary capital investment, and supports circular and collaborative production models. A win all around.
The transformative potential of MaaS lies in its close connection with electrification and digitalisation, two key enablers of industrial decarbonisation.
Electrification is central to reducing emissions from manufacturing. Replacing fossil-fuel-based processes with electric alternatives enables industries to benefit directly from the rapid decarbonisation of Europe’s power system. Electric process heating, electric drives, and power-to-heat solutions can dramatically cut emissions when combined with decarbonised electricity. In a MaaST model, electrified assets can be shared, optimised, and scaled across multiple users, accelerating adoption while reducing cost and risk for individual companies.
Digitalisation is the second critical pillar. Digital platforms, industrial IoT, data analytics, and AI enable real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and intelligent orchestration of distributed manufacturing resources. For MaaS, digitalisation is the backbone that allows manufacturing capacity to be scheduled, optimised, and verified across organisational boundaries.
The DMaaST project brings MaaST to life by showing how digitally connected, flexible manufacturing can directly support sustainability and decarbonisation. By linking distributed production assets through smart digital platforms and embedding energy efficiency and electrification into the model, DMaaST demonstrates how MaaS can be practical, scalable, and accessible, especially for SMEs.
Our work is strongly aligned with EU policy priorities. The EU Strategy for Energy System Integration recognises electrification and digital integration as key drivers of a more efficient, flexible, and decarbonised energy system. By breaking down silos between energy carriers, sectors, and infrastructures, the strategy creates the conditions for smarter industrial energy use. Complementing this, the EU Electrification Action Plan highlights the need to accelerate electrification across end-use sectors, including industry, supported by grids, digital technologies, and market frameworks that reward flexibility and efficiency.
Manufacturing as a Service fit naturally into this policy vision. It enables flexible demand, supports sector coupling, and creates new opportunities for industry to actively participate in an integrated, electrified energy system. By combining MaaS with electrification and digitalisation, Europe can decarbonise industrial production while strengthening competitiveness, innovation, and resilience. As the transition accelerates, Manufacturing as a Service must be recognised not as a niche technical concept, but as a strategic building block of Europe’s sustainable industrial future.
Author: Dušan Jakovljević, Policy Director at EEIP
