Sustainable Process Engineering Research

Name

Sustainable Process Engineering Research

Legal name

SuPER (Sustainable Process Engineering Research) Team

Website

https://super.chem.polimi.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Process Engineering Research & Technology Licensing

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Standards, Certification & Compliance (RECs/GOs, sustainability reporting) (EUAMANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Production (HEFA, FT, ATJ) (EUAAAHAE)

Keywords

• Process engineering research
• Chemical engineering services
• Carbon capture utilization
• Green hydrogen production
• Plastic waste conversion

Headquarters

HQ city

Milano

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial R&D contracts: Funded research and development collaborations with industrial partners (e.g., Itelyum Regeneration, ACEA, ENI, SAIPEM, TechnipFMC, Techint, SIBUR, FAT). Activities include technology development, process optimization, digitalization, and pilot plant engineering.
2. Publicly funded research: EU, national, and regional research grants (CSA, RIA, IA projects) with academic collaborators across 30+ countries.
3. Technology licensing royalties: Patents licensed through Politecnico di Milano's Technology Transfer Office. Examples: exclusive license to ACEA for GASIFORMING (Italy, 2021-2036); exclusive industrialization agreement with Techint E&C for RECS and GASIFORMING international; licensing of AG2S, PLASBREAKER, BIGSQUID, PSWA, RECS to various industrial partners.
4. Professional development courses: Post-graduate professional courses delivered to companies (e.g., SIBUR, Saipem, EUROCHEM, Uzkymiosanoat, Tashkent Institute of Chemical Technology, Sotacarbo, Austep). Topics include Process Systems Engineering, Process Operations Management, Natural gas processing, Techno-economic optimization.
5. BzzMath software licensing: BzzMath C++ numerical library freely downloadable for non-profit academic use; commercial/industrial use requires licensing through Prof. Guido Buzzi-Ferraris.
6. Sponsored PhD and MSc supervision: Companies sponsor PhD students and MSc thesis projects (e.g., Itelyum, FAT, ACEA). Research conducted under NDA with patent outcomes and direct industry application.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SuPER is an academic research team that develops and licenses proprietary process technologies for sustainable chemical engineering, specializing in green/blue hydrogen production, CO2 capture and utilization, biogas-to-biomethanol conversion, and plastic waste-to-chemicals processes. The team also provides funded industrial R&D services, professional education courses, and downloadable process engineering software (notably the BzzMath numerical library). Revenue flows from R&D contracts with industrial partners, public research grants, technology licensing royalties, and corporate training.

Product overview

SuPER (Sustainable Process Engineering Research) Team is an academic research group at Politecnico di Milano offering a portfolio of proprietary process technologies and software tools for sustainable chemical engineering. The core offerings include patented process technologies: AURGAS(TM), CANE(TM), NEZEE(TM), PSWA(TM), AG2S(TM), SACS(TM), GASIFORMING(TM), PLASBREAKER(TM), BIGSQUID(TM), and RECS(TM) for applications in hydrogen/syngas production, CO2 utilization, and plastic waste conversion. Supporting software includes the BzzMath C++ numerical library, CORO optimization software, MADsim digital twin simulator, and CSMBO&C/BSMBO&C optimization control frameworks. The team also provides immersive training tools via EYE4EDU/EYEDUCATION in collaboration with Schneider-Electric/AVEVA. Research focuses on decarbonization, digitalization (including AI/ML and digital twins), and clean technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AURGAS(TM)
• CANE(TM)
• NEZEE(TM)
• PSWA(TM)
• AG2S(TM) (Acid Gas to Syngas)
• SACS(TM)
• GASIFORMING(TM)
• PLASBREAKER(TM)
• BIGSQUID(TM)
• RECS(TM)
• BzzMath Library
• CORO (Capex Opex Robust Optimizer)
• MADsim Simulator
• CSMBO&C (Continuous Simultaneous Model-Based Optimization and Control)
• BSMBO&C (Batch Simultaneous Model-Based Optimization and Control)
• EYE4EDU/EYEDUCATION Immersive Avatar Labs
• Industrial R&D Collaboration Services
• Post-Graduate Professional Development Courses

Quantifiable outcome

• BIGSQUID(TM) plant achieves biochemical carbon negative rating of -88%, converting biogas CO2 emissions into biomethanol
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers17 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

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature22 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Techint E&CcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2022Exclusive industrialization agreement for RECS(TM) (2022) for demo-scale plant. International (ex-Italy) agreement for GASIFORMING(TM) covering Basic Engineering Design Package, Construction and Commissioning. Also longstanding collaboration on robust optimization across multiple sites in Italy, Iran, Eastern Europe, and Russia (2016–2021).
• ACEA SpAcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2021Exclusive license agreement for GASIFORMING(TM) technology in Italy (2021–2036). Demo-scale plant operating Q2/2022 and 15 kt/year methanol plant targeting Q2/2023 at Ancona site. GASIFORMING converts end-of-life plastic wastes into methanol/DME with lower CO2 impact than competing processes.
• Fattoria Autonoma Tabacchi (FAT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Collaboration on BIGSQUID(TM) demo-scale plant for converting biogas into biomethanol. IP portion transferred (20% FAT ownership, 80% Politecnico di Milano). Plant of 4,500 t/year operating since 2023 at Città di Castello. Collaboration ongoing 2019–2023 with San Marino Energia e Ambiente.
• ITELYUM REGENERATION srlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SuPER team operates POLIMI Permanent Labs embedded within Itelyum Regeneration's exhausted oil refinery — the largest in Italy. This is the first known academic group to have a permanent facility inside a real operating chemical plant. Activities include validation of AG2S(TM) technology (TRL 7), PLASBREAKER(TM) (TRL 6), digitalization with YOKOGAWA EXAQUANTUM DCS, and industrial deployment of multiple patented technologies. 2 patents transferred and licensed. Collaboration ongoing since ~2019.
• ENI SpAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple collaborations: EST (Eni Slurry Technology) at Sannazzaro de' Burgondi (PV), completed 2019; hydrothermal char process engineering at Bolzano; participation in LIDIA Biorefinery project (2013–2017, National Cluster Green Chemistry).
• SAIPEM SpAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrea Zero Emissions 2.0 (fertilizers, EPC); process operations management in Novosibirsk and Voronezh; plastic wastes chemical recycling at Taranto refinery; Acid Gas Injection Unit at Kashagan; collaboration since 2009 with multiple completed projects.
• SIBUR CorporatemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPyrolysis oil purification and energy optimization of natural gas plant at Tobolsk, Russian Federation. Professional education collaboration: post-graduate course on Process Operations Management delivered across 9 SIBUR sites (2019–2022).
• HBI GroupmajorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerTechnical advising for HTC (Hydrothermal Carbonization) sludge processing plant scale-up at Bolzano. 3 patents filed and transferred (HTC sludge processing, zero-odour). Collaboration includes A2A for HTC plant operations.
• TechnipFMCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAG2S(TM) application to oil refineries and gas fields in Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia (2017–2018). AG2S converts acid gases to syngas — key technology for refining applications.
• VISCOLUBE srlmajorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAG2S(TM) application to oil refineries and hydrofinishing operations at Pieve Fissiraga and Ceccano (2017–2020). Also collaborated on De-6(TM) waste oil regeneration technology (100% transferred to Viscolube; 9 kt/year plant operating since 2019).
• SIAD Macchine Impianti SpAmajorTechnology or IntegrationLiquid hydrogen processing EPC activity (2020–2021). Detailed thermodynamics and CAPE-OPEN implementation with Aspentech for Air Separation Units in Bergamo (2018–2020). Ongoing collaboration.
• CAPGEMINI ENGINEERINGminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBatch process modeling, simulation, and optimization for pharmaceutical plant at Varese.
• Schneider-Electric / AVEVAmajorTechnology or IntegrationEYE4EDU and EYEDUCATION projects — collaboration on immersive realistic 3D avatars of chemical plants for teaching and training. Deployments at University of Milan and Politecnico di Milano immersive labs.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• KBR: KBR is a major engineering and process technology licensor with leading positions in ammonia, refining, and petrochemicals. It overlaps with SuPER in process engineering consulting and technology licensing for industrial customers, including the type of robust optimization SuPER has delivered to Techint across multiple sites.
• Honeywell UOP: Honeywell UOP is a major process technology licensor offering refining, petrochemical, and gas processing technologies. It overlaps with SuPER in catalysts, process simulation, and clean fuels, but operates at much larger scale across a broader process technology portfolio, making it a broad incumbent in SuPER's addressable space.

Direct peers

• ITM Power: ITM Power develops and manufactures PEM electrolysers for green hydrogen production. It is comparable to SuPER's PRECELL and e-hy box green hydrogen processes, with both targeting decarbonized hydrogen production at industrial scale.
• Enerkem: Enerkem converts non-recyclable waste into methanol, ethanol, and hydrogen through proprietary gasification technology. It is directly comparable to SuPER's GASIFORMING and PLASBREAKER processes for converting end-of-life plastics into fuels and chemicals.
• Technip Energies: Technip Energies is a leading EPC and technology provider for energy, refining, and chemical projects. It is comparable to SuPER through overlapping industrial customers (ENI, SAIPEM), shared interest in plastic-to-chemical recycling (matching GASIFORMING), and process technology licensing activities.
• Aspen Technology: AspenTech is a leading provider of process simulation, optimization, and digital twin software for chemical and process industries. It is comparable to SuPER's BzzMath numerical library (downloaded in 80+ countries), MADsim digital twin simulator, and CSMBO&C/BSMBO&C optimization frameworks.
• Sunfire: Sunfire produces green hydrogen and synthetic fuels via high-temperature electrolysis and Power-to-X pathways. It is comparable to SuPER's green hydrogen processes (PRECELL, e-hy box) and electrified syngas (AURGAS, CANE, NEZEE), and both operate pilot-to-commercial scale plants for clean fuel production.
• Haldor Topsoe: Topsoe is a global leader in catalysis and process technology for hydrogen, syngas, ammonia, and clean fuels. It is directly comparable to SuPER in offering patented process technologies for hydrogen and syngas production (overlapping with SuPER's AURGAS, AG2S, SACS, PRECELL, and e-hy box processes), working with major refiners, and licensing technologies globally.
• LanzaTech: LanzaTech develops gas fermentation technology that converts carbon-rich gases into fuels and chemicals. It is directly comparable to SuPER's CO2-to-syngas (AG2S) and biogas-to-biomethanol (BIGSQUID) work, with both companies commercializing carbon capture and utilization pathways at industrial scale.

Emerging players

• Carbon Clean: Carbon Clean specializes in industrial CO2 capture using modular solvent-based technology. It is comparable to SuPER's PSWA electrified water-based CO2 capture technology, with both targeting cost-effective CO2 capture from industrial point sources and benefiting from tightening industrial emissions regulations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/super-team-milano

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 Sustainable Process Engineering Research