IMDEA Materials

What IMDEA Materials does

IMDEA Materials Institute (Fundación IMDEA Materiales) is a non-profit public research organization founded in 2007 and headquartered at the Tecnogetafe scientific and technological park in Getafe, Madrid. It operates as one of eight institutes in the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (IMDEA) network established by the Madrid Regional Government, and employs more than 120 researchers from over 22 nationalities across approximately 9,000 m² of laboratory facilities dedicated to materials design, processing, characterization, modeling, and simulation for transport, energy, and healthcare applications.

The institute's core capabilities span integrated computational materials engineering, advanced manufacturing (including additive manufacturing of metals, composites, and soft magnetics), multiscale characterization, and catalysis. Its technology portfolio includes woven Nitinol architectures for additive manufacturing, AI-powered surrogate models for real-time composite molding simulation, novel laser path techniques for high-entropy alloy 3D printing, elastic strain engineering for catalytic hydrogen production, and the Reac-Discovery semi-autonomous platform for catalytic reactor optimization. Research is operationalized through peer-reviewed publications (over 4,000 articles and 70,000+ citations on Scopus in 2025), 15 active EU projects (5 coordinated), multiple ERC grants, and 28 active PhD theses.

The institute's business model is anchored in public funding: core institutional support from the Comunidad de Madrid and national agencies (MICINN), competitive EU grants (Horizon Europe, ERC, Marie Skłodowska-Curie), and direct R&D contracts with industrial partners including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Siemens Gamesa, and Grupo Antolin. Technology transfer occurs through a dedicated Projects & Technology Department, internal Proof-of-Concept funding calls (2025, 2026), and spin-off commercialization — most notably Floatech, a silicon anode battery company that received a €2.5M EIC Accelerator grant in 2026 and opened manufacturing capacity in 2025 with a megafactory planned for 2029.

Name

IMDEA Materials

Legal name

FUNDACIÓN IMDEA MATERIALES

Website

https://materials.imdea.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

IMDEA Materials Institute is a non-profit public research organization in Madrid, Spain, employing 120+ researchers to advance materials science for transport, energy, and healthcare, funded by the Madrid regional government, EU grants, and industrial R&D contracts with Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens Gamesa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Materials Science Research Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Engineering Services (54133), Engineering Services (541330)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Additive Manufacturing Research & Innovation Labs (IMAAAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consulting, Advisory & Technology Transfer (AM Adoption) (IMAAAJAK), Testing, Inspection, Certification & Commissioning (TICx) Technical Services (BPAHAIAL)

Keywords

• Materials science research
• Advanced materials engineering
• Industrial R&D services
• Technology transfer
• Computational materials modeling

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: Core funding from Madrid regional government and national government through MICINN, supporting institutional research programs and infrastructure
2. EU Research Grants: Funding from European Union programs including Horizon Europe, ERC grants, and European Regional Development Fund
3. Industrial R&D Contracts: Direct R&D contracts with companies for applied research, testing, and technology development services
4. Spin-off Equity: Technology transfer through spin-off companies like Floatech, which has raised separate funding

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IMDEA Materials Institute is a non-profit public research organization that conducts fundamental and applied research in materials science and engineering, with a focus on design, processing, characterization, modelling and simulation of advanced materials for transport and energy applications. It delivers contracted R&D services to industrial partners, coordinates EU-funded research projects, trains PhD and postdoctoral researchers, and transfers technology to industry through licensing and spin-off companies such as Floatech.

Product overview

IMDEA Materials Institute is a non-profit research organization focused on materials science and engineering research, not a commercial product company. The institute conducts research across advanced materials, integrated computational materials engineering, advanced manufacturing, and multiscale characterization. It offers technology transfer services to industry and trains researchers through PhD programs and postdoctoral positions. The institute has produced spin-off companies including Floatech (silicon anode battery technology).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Contracted Industrial R&D Services Direct R&D contracts with companies for applied research, materials testing, characterization, and technology development in transport, energy, and manufacturing sectors.
• EU Collaborative Research Projects Participation and coordination of EU-funded collaborative research projects such as AM2SoftMag (Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder Open 2021) and the EU SORCERER project on structural supercapacitors and batteries for aircraft.
• Technology Transfer and Spin-off Creation Licensing of proprietary materials technologies and creation of spin-off companies such as Floatech for silicon anode battery manufacturing; selected for a €2.5 million European Innovation Council Accelerator grant.
• PhD and Postdoctoral Training Programs Doctoral training program with 28 active PhD theses and 8 Marie Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellows; predoctoral and postdoctoral research positions across materials science groups.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4000 articles published in 2025 with over 70000 citations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FloatechcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026Floatech is a Madrid-based silicon anode battery technology start-up and spin-off from IMDEA Materials Institute. Selected for €2.5 million European Innovation Council Accelerator grant with potential access to up to €10 million further investment. Opened first silicon anode manufacturing facility in 2025; plans advanced manufacturing megafactory in 2029 for electronics and EV gigafactory markets.
• Universität des SaarlandescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAM2SoftMag project coordinator for additive manufacturing of amorphous metals for soft magnetics under Horizon Europe EIC Pathfinder Open 2021 (01/03/2022 - 28/02/2026)
• INRIMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAM2SoftMag project partner - National Institute of Metrological Research, Italy
• Amloy (Heraeus)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAM2SoftMag project partner - metallic glass technology company
• AmazemetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAM2SoftMag project partner - metal powder manufacturing
• TU BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAM2SoftMag project partner - technical university research collaboration
• Technical University of Madrid (UPM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on woven Nitinol architectures for additive manufacturing, published in Virtual and Physical Prototyping journal
• EU SORCERER Project ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU-funded project developing structural supercapacitors and batteries for aircraft energy storage, achieving energy densities of 1.4 Wh/kg and power densities of 1.1 kW/kg
• Siemens Gamesa Renewable EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlumni placement and ongoing collaboration - Eva Moreno serves as Head of Materials Laboratory at Siemens Gamesa
• Siemens Wind PowercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer collaboration - Eva Moreno worked as metallurgist in materials laboratory before transition to Siemens Gamesa
• University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing research collaboration with Dr. Olben Falcó on Rolls-Royce UltraFan turbofan demonstrator project; multiple alumni placements
• Rolls-RoycecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on next-generation UltraFan turbofan demonstrator; impact engineering research with Oxford team
• Industrial Advisory BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry advisory body guiding institute research priorities and technology transfer
• Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (IMDEA) NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of IMDEA network of 8 institutes (Water, Food, Energy, Materials, Nanoscience, Networks, Software, Social Sciences) fostering regional innovation
• Scientific PartnershipscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive scientific partnerships with national and international research institutions for collaborative projects

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fraunhofer Society: Germany's largest applied research organization with 76 institutes conducting contract R&D for industry across materials, manufacturing, energy and transport. Closest peer to IMDEA given its hybrid public/non-profit funding model, EU grant participation, industrial collaborations and technology transfer focus.
• Max Planck Society: Germany's flagship basic-research organization with 86 Max Planck Institutes covering physics, materials science, and chemistry. Shares with IMDEA the non-profit foundation structure, ERC grant track record, international talent pool and high-impact publication output (hundreds of thousands of citations).
• SINTEF: Norway's largest independent research institute conducting contract R&D in materials technology, applied physics, and energy. Direct peer due to hybrid public funding/contract research model, EU project participation, and partnerships with European industrial majors in energy, transport, and manufacturing.
• National Physical Laboratory (NPL): UK's national metrology institute operating applied research in materials characterization, advanced manufacturing, and industrial measurement. Comparable to IMDEA for materials testing/characterization services, public funding model, and industrial R&D contracts.

Regional players

• Spanish National Research Council (CSIC): Spain's largest public research institution, operating numerous materials and engineering institutes nationwide. Comparable to IMDEA in national funding model, PhD/postdoc training programs, and advisory role to Spanish industry, but broader and less specialized on transport/energy materials.
• ICN2 (Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology): CERCA Centre in Barcelona conducting research in nanoscience, nanostructured materials, and energy applications. Regional peer to IMDEA within the Spanish research ecosystem, comparable in size, non-profit status and competitive EU grant funding focus.

Broad incumbents

• CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission): French government-funded technological research organization with divisions covering materials science, hydrogen, batteries and additive manufacturing. Comparable to IMDEA through public-sector R&D funding, deep ERC/EU participation, and major industrial collaborations in energy and transport.

Emerging players

• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT): German research university with a large materials science and additive manufacturing program. Comparable to IMDEA for AM/laser-based materials processing R&D, EU project coordination, and ERC-funded groups working on hydrogen catalysts and energy materials.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ImdeaMaterials
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC9oIoja9iHuTd5Dwlz1Iezw
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=100084353252070
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imdea-materiales
• Instagraminstagram.com/imdeamaterials

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IMDEA Materials