ACONDICIONAMIENTO TARRASENSE ASSOCIACION

Their core work

LEITAT is a Spanish applied research and technology centre based in Terrassa (Barcelona), specializing in advanced materials, surface treatments, and industrial biotechnology. They bridge the gap between laboratory-scale materials science and industrial application — developing functional coatings, nanomaterials, membranes, and bio-based chemicals that manufacturers can actually use. Their work spans from next-generation battery components and photocatalytic air filters to biorefinery processes and environmental remediation technologies. With strong pilot plant and scale-up capabilities, they serve as the translation engine that turns materials research into working prototypes and demonstration-ready products.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015–2018, LEITAT focused heavily on next-generation battery materials (lithium-sulphur, aluminium-ion, post-lithium chemistries), nanomaterial manufacturing processes (sputtering, plasma, electrospinning), and aerospace composites — essentially pushing the boundaries of what advanced materials could do. From 2019 onward, their centre of gravity shifted decisively toward circular economy, biorefinery, environmental health, and responsible innovation (RRI), with keywords like phytoremediation, nutrient recovery, and electrochemistry replacing battery-specific terminology. This evolution reflects a broader pivot from "making new materials" to "making materials sustainable and safe."

LEITAT is increasingly positioning itself at the intersection of industrial biotechnology and environmental sustainability — expect future work in waste-to-value bioprocesses, green chemistry, and safe-by-design materials.

How they like to work

LEITAT operates as a confident coordinator (26 out of 104 projects, ~25%) while remaining a highly sought-after consortium partner. Their 1,289 unique partners across 66 countries indicate a hub organization — they rarely repeat the same consortium and instead connect widely across European research networks. This makes them an excellent gateway partner: they know who does what across the continent and can assemble or join diverse teams quickly.

With 1,289 unique consortium partners spread across 66 countries, LEITAT has one of the densest collaboration networks among Spanish research centres. Their partnerships span far beyond the EU, though their strongest ties are with Western European industrial and academic partners, particularly through Clean Sky JTI projects and large RIA consortia.

What sets them apart

LEITAT occupies a rare position as a materials-focused technology centre with genuine pilot-plant and scale-up infrastructure — they don't just research materials, they produce them at pre-industrial scale. Their combination of deep materials science expertise with growing circular-economy and biosafety capabilities makes them unusually versatile: they can contribute advanced coatings to an aerospace project one month and biorefinery process optimization the next. For consortium builders, this means one partner that covers materials characterization, pilot production, safety assessment, and life-cycle thinking — reducing the number of seats you need to fill.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ALISE
  Coordinated a €694K advanced lithium-sulphur battery project spanning plasma processing to membrane separators — showcasing their full materials development pipeline.
• IN-POWER
  Coordinated their largest-budget project (€784K) on advanced materials for concentrated solar power, demonstrating leadership in energy materials at scale.
• MIDES
  Their highest single-project funding (€836K as participant) on microbial desalination — an unusual convergence of biotechnology, electrochemistry, and water treatment that exemplifies their cross-disciplinary reach.