CERIC
CERIC-ERIC is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium providing free open-access and paid industry services across distributed partner facilities in Central and Eastern Europe, delivering photon, electron, neutron, and ion-based analytical techniques for materials, biomaterials, and nanotechnology research.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersTrieste, Italy
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CERIC does
CERIC-ERIC (Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium) is a non-economic, non-profit European Research Infrastructure Consortium established under EU law by European Commission Implementing Decision 2014/392/EU and headquartered in Trieste, Italy. It operates on a distributed consortium model spanning member-state partner facilities in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Slovenia, providing open access to a multidisciplinary research infrastructure for materials, biomaterials, and nanotechnology science at the nano-level.
CERIC's core offering centers on complementary analytical and modification techniques using photon, electron, neutron, and ion-based methods, delivered via key partner facilities such as Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste (synchrotron radiation) and the SloNMR Centre in Ljubljana (NMR spectroscopy). Researchers access these capabilities through competitive Calls for Proposals subject to international peer review via the Virtual Unified Office (VUO) portal. Dedicated research verticals include battery research and fuel cells research, aligning the infrastructure with EU energy-transition priorities.
The business model is dual-track: a free open-access service for scientific users selected by international competition serves academic and applied research demand, while a paid industry and innovation services arm generates commercial revenue through an Industrial Liaison & Technology Transfer Office offering fee-for-service access to nanotechnology expertise for industrial partners, including EIC beneficiaries. Financial sustainability depends on member-state contributions and EU project funding (OSCARS, PaNOSC, IMPRESS, REMADE, RAMIRI) rather than equity investment or market-priced services. Governance rests with a General Assembly chaired by Carlo Rizzuto, with administrative leadership held by Chief Administrative Officer Andrea Santelli.
CERIC firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CERIC
- Legal name
- CERIC-ERIC
- Website
- https://ceric-eric.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CERIC-ERIC is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium providing free open-access and paid industry services across distributed partner facilities in Central and Eastern Europe, delivering photon, electron, neutron, and ion-based analytical techniques for materials, biomaterials, and nanotechnology research.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where CERIC is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Trieste
- HQ country
- Italy
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
CERIC business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Open Access Research Services: Free multidisciplinary open access service for scientific users selected on quality by international competition, offering complementary analytical and modification techniques for nano-level science and technology.
- Industry Innovation Services: Paid innovation ecosystem services for industry, including technologies, technical and scientific knowledge, skills, and strong industry expertise with strategic outlook in nanotech.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free open access for qualified researchers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
CERIC product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CERIC-ERIC is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium operating as a single entry point to distributed partner facilities across Central and Eastern Europe for the structural investigation, analysis, and synthesis of materials, biomaterials, and nanotechnology. It provides free open access for scientific users selected by international competition, alongside paid innovation and technology transfer services for industry, all using complementary photon, electron, neutron, and ion-based techniques at the nano-level.
Product overview
CERIC-ERIC is a Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium providing a unified platform for multidisciplinary research in Materials, Biomaterials, and Nanotechnology. The offering consists of a core research infrastructure service (CERIC-ERIC Research Infrastructure Services) that serves as a single entry point to distributed partner facilities across Central and Eastern Europe, supplemented by an Open Access Service for scientific users and Innovation and Industry Services for commercial partners. Users access the infrastructure through competitive Call for Proposals, with facilities offering photon, electron, neutron, and ion-based analytical and modification techniques for nano-level science and technology.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CERIC-ERIC Research Infrastructure Services Core multidisciplinary research infrastructure service providing a single entry point to distributed partner facilities for materials, biomaterials and nanotechnology research, offering structural investigation, analysis, and synthesis of materials using photon, electron, neutron, and ion-based techniques.
- Open Access Service Free multidisciplinary open access service offering complementary analytical and modification techniques for nano-level science and technology, targeted at scientific researchers selected on quality by international competition.
- Innovation and Industry Services Paid innovation ecosystem services for industry, providing access to CERIC's technologies, technical and scientific knowledge, skills, and strong industry expertise in nanotechnology, with sectors including energy, health, food, and cultural heritage.
- Partner Facilities Access Distributed single entry point to excellent partner facilities in Central and Eastern Europe providing photon, electron, neutron, and ion-based instrumentation and expertise for materials research.
- Call for Proposals Regular, competitive, internationally peer-reviewed calls for proposals that grant qualified researchers access to CERIC's facilities and instrumentation.
Companies that use CERIC
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
CERIC technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
CERIC partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- European CommissioncoreEstablished by European Commission Implementing Decision of June 24th 2014 (2014/392/EU) as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) - a full legal entity under EU law.
- European Innovation Council (EIC)coreCERIC partners with EIC to provide services for EIC beneficiaries, supporting innovation and technology transfer in the European research ecosystem.
- OSCARS ProjectcoreCollaboration on OSCARS (likely a European research infrastructure project) shown in projects section of website.
- PaNOSC (Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud)minorCollaborates on PaNOSC project for open science cloud in photon and neutron community.
- IMPRESS ProjectminorCollaboration on IMPRESS project, a European research infrastructure initiative.
- REMADE InstituteminorCollaboration on REMADE project focused on materials and manufacturing research.
- ERIC ForumminorMember of ERIC Forum connecting European Research Infrastructure Consortia.
- European XFEL GmbHminorInternational collaboration with European XFEL for research infrastructure management (RAMIRI initiative).
- I.S.I.S. M. Buonarroti (Monfalcone)minorLead school partner in PaGES educational outreach project, providing hands-on scientific experience for high school students.
- Elettra - Sincrotrone TriestecoreKey partner facility providing synchrotron radiation facilities and expertise within the CERIC network.
- SloNMR Centre (Ljubljana)corePartner facility in Slovenia providing NMR capabilities for the CERIC consortium.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CERIC competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ALBA Synchrotron: Spanish synchrotron light source serving academic and industrial users with similar photon-based characterization techniques; competes for Southern European and Iberian proposals.
- Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL): World-leading neutron scattering facility in Grenoble, with which CERIC's neutron techniques directly overlap; a benchmark peer in open-access neutron-based materials characterization.
- MAX IV Laboratory: Swedish synchrotron providing open access for materials and nanotechnology; comparable in mission, technique portfolio, and target user community to CERIC's photon-based partner facilities.
- Synchrotron SOLEIL: French synchrotron offering open-access beamlines for materials and biomaterials research, directly comparable to CERIC partner facilities in scope and user competition.
- European XFEL: X-ray free-electron laser facility in Hamburg; CERIC explicitly lists RAMIRI collaboration with European XFEL. Comparable as a photon-based research infrastructure offering open access for nano-scale structural investigation.
- Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste: Synchrotron light source in Trieste that is itself a core CERIC partner facility; directly comparable as a free-electron and synchrotron provider for materials and nanotechnology research in the same geography.
- ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility): Grenoble-based synchrotron providing open access to beamlines for materials and biomaterials research; the most prominent European competitor for high-impact structural-investigation proposals.
- European Spallation Source ERIC (ESS): Next-generation neutron source operating as an ERIC legal entity, the closest structural and legal peer to CERIC-ERIC; competes for neutron-beam proposals and shares the ERIC governance model.
Broad incumbents
- DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron): Large German national laboratory operating photon science and particle physics facilities; comparable as a broader-scale photon-based research infrastructure with substantial open-access programs.
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB): Operates the BESSY II synchrotron and neutron facilities; broader national lab comparable to CERIC's mission of coordinating multi-technique beamline access for materials research.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CERIC social profiles
Digital presenceCERIC financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CERIC leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
CERIC funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CERIC M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CERIC
What does CERIC do?
CERIC-ERIC is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium operating as a single entry point to distributed partner facilities across Central and Eastern Europe for the structural investigation, analysis, and synthesis of materials, biomaterials, and nanotechnology. It provides free open access for scientific users selected by international competition, alongside paid innovation and technology transfer services for industry, all using complementary photon, electron, neutron, and ion-based techniques at the nano-level.
Is CERIC a public or private company?
CERIC is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was CERIC founded?
CERIC was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CERIC based?
CERIC is headquartered in Trieste, Italy, in the Europe region.
How does CERIC make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Open Access Research Services are the primary driver. The others are industry Innovation Services.
Who are CERIC's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ALBA Synchrotron, Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), MAX IV Laboratory, Synchrotron SOLEIL, European XFEL, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) and European Spallation Source ERIC (ESS). Broad incumbents are DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB).
Does CERIC have an API?
No public API is recorded for CERIC.