e-Symbiosis: technology-enabled support for Industrial Symbiosis targeting Small and Medium Enterprises and innovation

The paper introduces a new paradigm for Industrial Symbiosis by pioneering the use of ontology engineering in the field. Semantics are used to model Industrial Symbiosis flows, to model enabling technologies and to systematise the development of a matching service. Combined with a systems engineering approach, semantics further combine tacit knowledge from Industrial Symbiosis experts with explicit knowledge from Industrial Symbiosis participants. The new approach promises systematic venues to discoveries, innovative solutions, and a holistic methodology in the development of Industrial Symbiosis networks. The paradigm has been implemented as a multilingual web service to support Industrial Symbiosis communities and to embrace small and medium enterprises that are currently side-lined from developments. The approach has been tested and validated using real-life data and its functions are demonstrated with illustrative examples.