ICMSE

What ICMSE does

ICMSE (Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla) is a public joint research institute (Centro Mixto) jointly operated by Spain's national research council CSIC and the Universidad de Sevilla, with additional support from the Junta de Andalucía regional government. Headquartered at the cicCartuja research campus in Seville, the institute is organized into six research units covering Catalysis for Environment and Energy, Ceramic Engineering for Aggressive Environments, Mechanochemistry and Materials Reactivity, Nanostructured Functional Materials, Optical Materials, and Materials Physics. Its core activity is experimental and applied materials science research, with outputs spanning peer-reviewed publications, doctoral theses, and collaborative projects with universities and industry.

The institute operates an extensive portfolio of scientific-technical services that constitute its primary external interface. These fee-based services cover surface chemical analysis (XPS, tribology, wettability), X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis (ICP-OES), optical and vibrational spectroscopies (infrared, micro-Raman, UV-Vis-NIR, electroluminescence, ultra-fast), electron microscopy (SEM, TEM, nanoscopies-LANE) plus sample preparation, thermal analysis, and physisorption-chemisorption characterization. The institute also engages in science outreach through the Divulgación Científica program, a SciTalks seminar series, and a multilingual social media presence.

Funding flows through institutional appropriations from CSIC, Universidad de Sevilla, and Junta de Andalucía rather than commercial pricing models; external users pay service fees under institutional agreements. No equity funding, acquisitions, or commercial product lines are indicated. The institute's market reach is regional (Andalusia, Spain) with global scientific engagement through high-impact journal publications (Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Materials, Materials Horizons, Nano Energy) and international seminar collaborations.

Name

ICMSE

Legal name

Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla

Website

https://icmse.csic.es

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ICMSE (Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla) is a public joint research institute of CSIC and Universidad de Sevilla that conducts materials science research across catalysis, ceramics, mechanochemistry, nanostructured materials, optical materials, and materials physics, serving academic and industry clients with characterization services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seville

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ICMSE is a public research institute that provides scientific-technical services for advanced materials characterization and analysis, alongside multidisciplinary research across six units covering catalysis, ceramics, mechanochemistry, nanostructured functional materials, optical materials, and materials physics. Its service portfolio includes surface analysis (XPS, tribology, wettability), X-ray diffraction, atomic emission spectrometry, multiple spectroscopy modalities (IR, Raman, UV-Vis-NIR, electroluminescence, ultra-fast), electron microscopy (SEM, TEM, nanoscopies), sample preparation, thermal analysis, and physisorption-chemisorption analysis. Services are delivered to academic researchers and industry partners primarily through institutional collaborations.

Product overview

ICMSE (Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla) is a joint research institute (Centro Mixto) of CSIC and Universidad de Sevilla. It offers a comprehensive portfolio of scientific-technical services and operates multiple research units. The institute provides fee-based characterization services including surface analysis (XPS, tribology, wettability), diffraction (X-ray), spectroscopy (IR, Raman, UV-Vis-NIR, electroluminescence, ultra-fast), microscopy (SEM, TEM, nanoscopies), thermal analysis, and textural analysis. The research units focus on Catalysis for Environment and Energy, Ceramic Engineering for Aggressive Environments, Mechanochemistry and Materials Reactivity, Nanostructured Functional Materials, Optical Materials, and Materials Physics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Surface Chemical Analysis by Photoemission (XPS) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy service for chemical analysis of surfaces, providing elemental composition and chemical state information. Available to academic researchers and industry partners.
• Tribological and Mechanical Surface Characterization Service for characterizing mechanical and tribological properties of surfaces including hardness, wear resistance, and friction coefficient. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Surface Wettability Determination Service for measuring contact angles and surface energy to determine wetting characteristics of materials. Available to academic and industrial users.
• X-ray Diffraction (XRD) XRD analysis service for crystal structure identification, phase analysis, and crystallographic characterization of materials. Available to academic and industrial users.
• ICP-OES Atomic Emission Spectrometry Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy service for elemental analysis of liquid samples. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Infrared Spectroscopy Service for molecular identification through infrared absorption analysis. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Micro-Raman Spectroscopy Raman spectroscopy service for molecular vibration analysis and chemical identification at microscopic scale. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Ultraviolet-Visible-Near Infrared Spectroscopy UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy service for electronic absorption and optical property characterization of materials. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Electroluminescence Spectroscopy Service for characterizing light emission from materials under electrical stimulation. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Ultra-fast Spectroscopy Time-resolved spectroscopy service for studying ultrafast dynamics in materials with femtosecond/picosecond resolution. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Machining Services Precision machining services for sample preparation and fabrication of research materials. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) SEM service for surface imaging and microstructural analysis at high magnification. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Nanoscopies and Spectroscopies-LANE Advanced nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy services including scanning probe techniques. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) TEM service for high-resolution imaging and internal structure analysis of materials. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Sample Preparation for Electron Microscopy Specialized sample preparation services including thinning, coating, and ultramicrotomy for electron microscopy analysis. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Preparation, Characterization and Processing of Materials Comprehensive service for synthesis, characterization, and processing of catalytic and functional materials. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Thermal Analysis DSC, TGA, and DTA services for thermal property characterization of materials. Available to academic and industrial users.
• Physisorption-Chemisorption Analysis BET surface area and pore size analysis, plus chemisorption measurements for catalyst characterization. Available to academic and industrial users.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary institutional partner. CSIC is Spain's largest public research institution. ICMSE is a Centro Mixto (joint institute) with CSIC, combining university research with national research council resources and funding.
• Universidad de SevillacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint founding university partner. ICMSE operates as a Centro Mixto between CSIC and Universidad de Sevilla, enabling academic integration and access to university researchers and facilities.
• Junta de AndalucíacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional government funding partner providing institutional support for research operations in Andalusia.
• Centro de Investigaciones Científicas Isla de la Cartuja (cicCartuja)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost campus facility. ICMSE is located at the cicCartuja research campus alongside other premier research institutes, enabling synergies and shared facilities. Hosts the cicCartuja awards including Ebro Food prizes.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Intertek Group: Global testing, inspection, and certification company with extensive materials and analytical laboratory services. Comparable to the commercial-services side of ICMSE (XPS, XRD, spectroscopy, microscopy) but operating at vastly greater scale.
• Eurofins Scientific: Global commercial testing, characterization, and laboratory services group. Overlaps with ICMSE's scientific-technical services in materials characterization, but operates as a commercial business rather than a research institute.
• Element Materials Technology: International materials testing and characterization services provider. Overlaps with ICMSE's analytical and mechanical characterization offerings for industrial clients across multiple sectors.
• National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan: National public research institute with a mission and portfolio (nanomaterials, functional materials, characterization services) closely parallel to ICMSE, but at much larger scale and budget. Useful benchmark for what ICMSE could scale into.
• Max Planck Institute for Materials Research: One of the world's leading publicly funded materials science research organizations. Operates an integrated research-plus-services model with similar breadth to ICMSE but at substantially larger scale and global brand.

Direct peers

• Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM-CSIC): Sister CSIC materials science institute located in Madrid. Directly comparable governance model (CSIC joint institute), similarly broad materials science portfolio, and shared funding mechanisms, making it the most structurally direct peer to ICMSE.
• Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC): Another CSIC joint materials science institute, characterized by strong inorganic functional materials, nanomaterials, and characterization services. Shares the same institutional funding model and competitive context for talent and grants.
• Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio (ICV-CSIC): CSIC institute focused on ceramics and glass, overlapping with ICMSE's Ceramic Engineering for Aggressive Environments and Materials Physics units. Comparable funding/governance structure.
• CNRS - Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Paris (LCMCP): French public research laboratory jointly operated by CNRS and a Paris university, focused on materials chemistry, ceramics, and nanomaterials. Closely comparable in mission, governance (public research institute), and scientific scope to ICMSE.
• EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology): Swiss federal research institute for materials science and technology. Combines applied research with industry services, similar to ICMSE's hybrid research-and-characterization model, but at much larger scale and with stronger industry orientation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ICMSevilla
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ICMSevilla
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icmse

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ICMSE