Scientific.Net

What Scientific.Net does

Scientific.Net is the online publishing platform of Trans Tech Publications Ltd. (TTP), a Swiss private limited company headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, founded in 1967. The platform publishes peer-reviewed academic journals, book series, and conference proceedings in materials science and engineering, with a portfolio of 16 journals (e.g., Materials Science Forum, Key Engineering Materials, Advanced Materials Research, Journal of Nano Research) and multiple book series (Foundations of Materials Science and Engineering, Scientific Books Collection, Specialized Collections). Underlying technology includes an in-house online manuscript management system handling the full lifecycle of academic periodicals — bulk uploading, deadline tracking, peer review management, file sharing, commenting, and automated email notifications — alongside ORCID integration for author identification and broad SSO federation support (eduGAIN, Shibboleth, OpenAthens, InCommon, GakuNin, CARSI, etc.) for institutional access.

The company monetizes through four primary streams: institutional subscriptions providing unlimited access to periodicals (subscription/recurring); one-time book sales in print and eBook formats ranging from $130-$980 per title (one-time license); Open Access Article Processing Charges at EUR 1450 standard / EUR 725 for partner institutions (transaction fees); and Read & Publish transformative agreements with universities and consortia that bundle reading access with publishing rights. Distribution occurs through the proprietary Scientific.Net platform, the Torrossa digital bookstore (since 2023), and direct institutional sales. Customers are primarily university libraries and research institutions (61 R&P partner institutions including RWTH Aachen, Carnegie Mellon, Argonne National Laboratory, TU WIEN, CNR Italy), individual academic researchers and authors (transactional APC payers), and conference organizers (proceedings publishers). Geographic reach spans Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, with no public ownership, venture funding, or M&A activity indicated in the source data.

Name

Scientific.Net

Legal name

Trans Tech Publications Ltd.

Website

https://scientific.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Scientific.Net (Trans Tech Publications Ltd.) is a Swiss academic publisher founded in 1967 that publishes 16 peer-reviewed journals and multiple book series in materials science and engineering, serving university libraries, research institutions, and academic authors via subscriptions, Open Access APCs, and Read & Publish agreements across 61+ institutional partners globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM & Engineering Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols) (EDAGAGAG)

Keywords

• Academic journal publishing
• Materials science publishing
• Open access publishing
• Scientific book series
• Conference proceedings publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bach

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Access to Periodicals: Libraries and institutions subscribe to access ePeriodicals (ePapers) and eBooks through the Scientific.Net platform. Access is provided via IP address, SSO, or Google Scholar CASA with unlimited access for subscribed periods.
2. Book Sales (Print and eBook): One-time purchase of individual books and conference proceedings in print or electronic format. Single-user and multi-user pricing available. Books are also distributed through third-party platforms like Torrossa.
3. Open Access Article Processing Charges: Authors pay APCs to publish articles Open Access under CC-BY 4.0 license. Reduced rates available for authors from partner institutions under Read & Publish agreements. Standard rate: 1450 EUR; Partner rate: 725 EUR.
4. Read & Publish Agreements: Transformative agreements with universities providing both reading access to content and publishing rights. Enables affiliated members to publish OA without APC under CC-BY license.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Scientific.Net is an academic publishing platform operated by Trans Tech Publications Ltd. that publishes peer-reviewed scientific and engineering journals, book series, and conference proceedings, primarily in materials science and engineering. The platform provides subscription-based institutional access, Open Access publishing under CC-BY 4.0 license, Read & Publish agreements with universities, and an online manuscript management system for the complete peer review and editorial lifecycle. The company has been publishing academic content since 1967 and produces more than 150 new titles annually.

Product overview

Scientific.Net, operated by Trans Tech Publications Ltd., is a comprehensive academic publishing platform that publishes scientific and engineering peer-reviewed academic journals and book series. The platform offers a portfolio of 16 journals across materials science and engineering disciplines, including titles such as Advanced Materials Research (AMR), Materials Science Forum (MSF), Key Engineering Materials (KEM), Journal of Nano Research, Engineering Chemistry (Gold OA), and others. The book program includes several series: Foundations of Materials Science and Engineering (FoMSE), Scientific Books Collection (SBC), Scientific Books of Abstracts (SBA), Specialized Collections, and Retrospective Collection. Additionally, the platform offers three proceedings series (Advances in Science and Technology, Construction Technologies and Architecture, Engineering Headway). Services include Open Access publishing under CC-BY 4.0 license, Read & Publish agreements with institutions, and conference publication services. The platform also provides an online manuscript management system supporting peer review workflows, bulk data handling, deadline management, and automated communications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advanced Materials Research (AMR) Peer-reviewed academic journal publishing research in materials science and engineering topics, distributed to institutions and individual subscribers.
• Materials Science Forum (MSF) Peer-reviewed journal covering materials science research and developments, available via institutional subscription and individual access.
• Key Engineering Materials (KEM) Peer-reviewed journal publishing engineering materials research for researchers and institutions.
• Applied Mechanics and Materials (AMM) Peer-reviewed journal focused on applied mechanics and materials science.
• Advanced Engineering Forum (AEF) Peer-reviewed journal publishing engineering research and innovations.
• Journal of Nano Research (JNanoR) Peer-reviewed journal dedicated to nanoscale materials research and applications.
• Defect and Diffusion Forum (DDF) Peer-reviewed journal covering defect and diffusion phenomena in materials.
• Solid State Phenomena (SSP) Peer-reviewed journal focusing on solid state physics and materials phenomena.
• Diffusion Foundations and Materials Applications (DFMA) Peer-reviewed journal on diffusion research and materials applications.
• Journal of Metastable and Nanocrystalline Materials (JMNM) Peer-reviewed journal covering metastable and nanocrystalline materials research.
• Nano Hybrids and Composites (NHC) Peer-reviewed journal on nano-scale hybrid materials and composites.
• Engineering Chemistry (EC) Gold Open Access journal publishing research in chemistry, chemical engineering, and related topics. First volume available since March 2023.
• Engineering Innovations (EI) Gold Open Access journal publishing engineering innovation research.
• International Journal of Engineering Research in Africa (JERA) Peer-reviewed journal publishing engineering research relevant to Africa and developing regions.
• Journal of Biomimetics, Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (JBBBE) Peer-reviewed journal covering biomimetics, biomedical materials, and bioengineering.
• Advances in Science and Technology (AST) Conference proceedings series in science and technology.
• Construction Technologies and Architecture (CTA) Conference proceedings series focused on construction technologies and architecture.
• Engineering Headway (EH) Engineering proceedings series covering advances in engineering.
• Foundations of Materials Science and Engineering (FoMSE) Comprehensive book series covering foundational materials science and engineering topics.
• Scientific Books Collection (SBC) Book collection covering newest developments in materials science and engineering, highlighting research from top international conferences; introduced in 2022.
• Scientific Books of Abstracts (SBA) Book series containing abstracts from scientific conferences and proceedings.
• Specialized Collections (SC) Specialized book collections on specific topics in materials science and engineering.
• Retrospective Collection (RC) Historical collection of books and publications from previous years.
• Open Access Publishing Service Open access publication services allowing authors to publish under CC-BY 4.0 license, with reduced APCs (725 EUR) for authors from partner institutions or standard rate of 1450 EUR.
• Read & Publish Agreements Transformative institutional agreements providing full reading rights to subscribed content and publishing opportunities with no Article Processing Charges for affiliated authors under CC-BY 4.0.
• Conference Publications Service Comprehensive classic and Open Access conference publication services for organizing committees, including peer-reviewed proceedings publication.

Quantifiable outcome

• 61 institutional partners with Read & Publish agreements providing reading access and publishing opportunities
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Integration17 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Chalmers University of TechnologyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Reduced Open Access APC agreement providing Chalmers members a special rate of 725 EUR instead of 1450 EUR for publishing in TTP periodicals.
• TIB Consortium (Technische Informationsbibliothek Hannover)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Comprehensive Read & Publish agreement covering 21 German universities and research institutions including RWTH Aachen, KIT, TU Berlin, University of Stuttgart, and Max Planck Institutes. Provides participating institutes with full reading access including backfiles and perpetual access rights to 2024 publications.
• TU WIEN (Vienna University of Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Transformative agreement in Austria enabling the academic community to have full reading rights and publishing opportunities with no APCs for CC-BY 4.0 articles.
• CNR Italy (National Research Council)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Transformative agreement in Italy providing reading rights and publishing opportunities with no APCs for CC-BY 4.0 articles.
• Erasmus/TorrossacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2023Distribution agreement making TTP-published eBooks available through the Torrossa full-text platform. The Torrossa digital bookstore offers more than 300,000 works from over 160 publishers.
• AGH University of KrakowminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOpen Access Agreement with reduced APCs for affiliated authors. Agreement valid through 2026-12-31.
• Carnegie Mellon UniversityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOpen Access Agreement with reduced APCs for affiliated authors. Agreement valid through 2027-12-31.
• Argonne National LaboratoryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOpen Access Agreement providing affiliated researchers with reduced APC rates for OA publication.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Springer Nature: Springer Nature is a top-three STM publisher with major materials science and engineering journals, books, and conference proceedings. It competes with Scientific.Net for the same institutional library budgets and author submissions, but at vastly greater scale and brand recognition.
• Elsevier: Elsevier (Reed Elsevier) is the largest STM publisher, with leading materials science journals and a broad portfolio of books and proceedings. It is comparable to Scientific.Net as the dominant incumbent in the same category that Scientific.Net operates in, but Elsevier offers an unmatched portfolio and much larger scale.
• Wiley: Wiley is a major academic publisher with strong materials science and engineering journal portfolios. It is comparable to Scientific.Net as a competing subscription and OA publisher, with Wiley now also operating Hindawi as its OA arm.
• Taylor & Francis: Taylor & Francis is a major academic publisher with extensive materials science and engineering journal lists. It competes with Scientific.Net for institutional subscriptions and OA articles, though at much greater scale and with broader disciplinary coverage.

Direct peers

• IOP Publishing: IOP Publishing is a learned society-affiliated STM publisher with strong coverage in physics, materials, and engineering. It is comparable to Scientific.Net as a similarly structured publisher running subscription journals, conference proceedings, and institutional agreements within overlapping scientific disciplines.
• World Scientific Publishing: World Scientific is an independent academic publisher with strong coverage of materials science, physics, and engineering. It is comparable to Scientific.Net as a privately held, mid-sized STM publisher running journals, books, and conference proceedings with a similar geographic and product mix.
• IOS Press: IOS Press is a mid-sized independent academic publisher specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content with strong engineering and computer science titles. It is comparable to Scientific.Net as a similarly sized niche STM publisher running subscription, OA, and institutional models with comparable headcount and European roots.
• Hindawi: Hindawi (now part of Wiley) is an OA-focused academic publisher covering STEM disciplines including materials and engineering research. It competes directly with Scientific.Net for OA articles, Read & Publish agreements, and author share in mid-tier materials science journals.
• MDPI: MDPI is a large open-access academic publisher with broad STEM coverage including dedicated materials science and engineering journals. It is highly comparable to Scientific.Net because both run Gold OA models with APC revenue, serve niche scientific communities, and operate their own submission and peer-review platforms.

Emerging players

• Frontiers Media: Frontiers is a fast-growing open-access publisher with expanding coverage of materials science and engineering journals. It is comparable to Scientific.Net as a Gold OA competitor targeting the same author pool, though Frontiers operates at significantly larger scale and has broader subject coverage.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Scientific.Net