COMPANY NEWS
HSSMI and Partners Secure Made Smarter Innovation Funding to Launch EcoTwin, a Digital Twin and AI Platform for unlocking Manufacturing SME Efficiency
London, UK – 2nd September 2026: HSSMI, in partnership with Brandauer and Opus International Products, today announced it has secured funding through the Made Smarter Innovation initiative, delivered by Innovate UK, to develop and pilot EcoTwin, a digital platform designed to help manufacturing SMEs cut energy waste, reduce material loss, and optimise resource use through real-time monitoring and predictive artificial intelligence.
EcoTwin combines IoT-enabled data collection, digital twin simulation, and agentic AI to give manufacturers actionable, real-time visibility into their production processes. By tracking energy and material flows and identifying unplanned downtime, the platform will generate practical recommendations that support better operational, financial, and environmental decision-making on the shop floor.
Addressing a Real Gap on the Factory Floor
Many UK manufacturing SMEs operate without detailed, actionable visibility into energy consumption and process inefficiencies, meaning losses often go unquantified and unaddressed. EcoTwin is designed to close that gap, and will be piloted at two UK SME sites: 1) Brandauer: a precision metal stamping company, and 2) Opus International Products: an injection moulding manufacturer.
Built for SMEs, Not Just Large Manufacturers
A central goal of EcoTwin is to make advanced digital monitoring accessible to SMEs that have historically been priced out of it by cost or technical complexity. Key features include:
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- Predictive AI models that recommend operational adjustments and simulate outcomes before they are implemented on the line.
- A scalable, modular design, enabling low-cost deployment and rapid adaptation across multiple SME sites.
- Integration with legacy machinery via IoT retrofits and standardised APIs, allowing advanced monitoring without major infrastructure investment.
- User-friendly dashboards and visualisations, supporting operator engagement and workforce upskilling.
A Replicable Model for UK Manufacturing
Beyond the two pilot sites, EcoTwin is intended as a replicable framework for energy and resource optimisation across the wider UK manufacturing sector. HSSMI’s analysis suggests that if adopted by just 10% of UK manufacturing SMEs (around 25,000 firms), the platform could unlock cumulative annual cost savings of £0.6bn to £1.25bn and CO₂e reductions of 1.2m to 2.5m tonnes.
Following successful validation at Brandauer and Opus Products, HSSMI plan to scale EcoTwin to additional production lines and organisations, helping accelerate the adoption of data-driven efficiency practices across UK manufacturing.
David Stewart, Engineering Director at HSSMI said: “EcoTwin is about putting the power of digital twins and AI into the hands of manufacturers that have traditionally found these technologies too complex or costly to deploy. We want to move beyond simply collecting data and give operators and managers clear, actionable insight into where energy, materials and productivity are being lost and what they can do to remediate it. If we can demonstrate that impact at Brandauer and Opus Products, we have an opportunity to create a model that can be replicated across thousands of UK manufacturing SMEs”.
About HSSMI
HSSMI is a leading sustainable manufacturing consultancy, helping organisations to scale up the production of new technologies and implement operational excellence in factories, with the goal of accelerating manufacturing competitiveness. HSSMI specialises in supporting manufacturers across the full lifecycle of industrial transformation. Its core capabilities span manufacturing strategy, industrial engineering, digital modelling sustainable supply chains, and the design and delivery of complex capital programmes. The firm is particularly recognised for its work in automotive, battery and electrification value chains, advanced materials, and net-zero manufacturing, helping clients bridge the gap between strategy and execution.
About the Made Smarter Innovation Initiative
Made Smarter Innovation is delivered by Innovate UK as part of the UK Government’s Made Smarter programme, supporting the development and adoption of industrial digital technologies across UK manufacturing.
Media Contact for HSSMI:
David Stewart
David.stewart@hssmi.com
Media Contact for Brandauer:
russ@cucumberpr.co.uk
Media Contact for Opus:
rob.cooney@opusproducts.com
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