The paper describes an innovation project aiming to embed sensors into cast metal during the casting process. Important measurands are e.g. elongation, shear, temperature and vibration. In practice this means to turn metal components into also being digital components. This will respond to some of metal industrýs challenges; resource efficient design, increased value added for the casting sector, and general access to different possibilities of digitalization. Technical challenges lie in choices of sensor material to integrate during the casting process that maintains its sensor functionality after casting processing without degrading the mechanical strength of the metal component. Other challenges relate to signal interaction and interference between sensor and metal. To handle the technical challenges the innovation project gathers competence about metal casting and sensor technology. One goal of this innovation project is to develop an innovation platform that elevates the material based casting industry into a wholly or partially value and service based industry. Integration of sensors into cast components makes sensing functionality a natural property of metal, which in turn may turn metal into key components for the industrial digitalization.