The role of product design in enabling circular business models : Design of an electric cooler for rental

Sammanfattning

This thesis presents the development of a redesigned active cool box adapted for rental-based use. The project was conducted over 20 weeks of full-time work by two Industrial Design Engineering students at Luleå University of Technology. The thesis was carried out in collaboration with Knightec Group, a consulting firm contributing technical expertise and project supervision, and Dometic, an outdoor product company focused on enabling more comfortable and accessible mobile living experiences. The project explores how circular design principles can be integrated into outdoor products within rental-based business models. The work focuses on the Dometic CFX5 active cool box and investigates how the product could transition from a traditional linear ownership model toward a circular rental-oriented solution. The current product lacks several characteristics commonly associated with circular and rental-based systems, particularly modularity and repairability. The project specifically targets inexperienced campers, a user group identified as having high potential for rental services due to the high purchase cost of the CFX5 and its limited annual usage. By enabling rental-based access, the project aims to make mobile living experiences more accessible to a wider audience while supporting more resource efficient product use. The project was structured using the Double Diamond design process, consisting of the four phases: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. This framework supported both divergent and convergent design activities throughout the project, where the first half focused on research, understanding, and establishing a clear project direction, while the second half focused on ideation, concept development, and refinement toward a final result. The final result is a redesigned cool box concept centered around repairability, robustness, and longevity. The final concept was evaluated against a list of requirements developed from the gathered insights and interviews conducted throughout the project. The concept introduces a new product architecture in which components are organized according to circular design principles, enabling easier repair, replacement, and recycling. The design consists of an outer shell optimized for repairability and material recovery, combined with a durable inner structure intended to withstand repeated rental cycles while maintaining cleanliness, functionality, and visual quality over time, resulting in a more circular product.