CAO HELLAS MAKEDONIKI ASVESTOPOIIA ANONIMI ETAIRIA PARAGOGIS KAI EMPORIAS ASVESTOY KAI LOIPON DOMIKOICHIMIKON ILON

Their core work

CAO HELLAS is a Greek lime and construction chemicals manufacturer based in Thessaloniki, producing and trading calcium oxide (quicklime), hydrated lime, and related mineral products. Their H2020 participation positions them as an industrial materials partner: lime is a critical reagent in both CO2 capture processes and the Pedersen route for alumina production, which explains their presence in two very different-looking research projects. In practice, they contribute real manufacturing know-how and material supply chains to research consortia testing industrial-scale decarbonization and circular economy processes. They are a rare example of a traditional process industry SME actively engaging with EU research to future-proof their core product's role in green industrial transitions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CAO HELLAS entered H2020 in 2016 through ROLINCAP, focused on the chemistry of CO2 capture — a relatively narrow materials-science application for lime. By 2017, ENSUREAL extended their engagement toward the broader agenda of sustainable and circular process industries, with the Pedersen alumina route as the specific vehicle. The keyword shift — from no recorded keywords in the early project to "pedersen", "sustainable process industries", and "circular economy" in the later one — signals a move from a single-technology niche toward a wider industrial sustainability framing. Given both projects ran almost simultaneously and the portfolio is small, this is better read as a broadening of positioning rather than a genuine pivot.

CAO HELLAS appears to be repositioning lime as a strategic material for industrial decarbonization and circular economy processes, suggesting future interest in consortia targeting green steel, sustainable minerals, or carbon-negative construction materials.

How they like to work

CAO HELLAS participates exclusively as a consortium member — they have never led an H2020 project. Despite only two projects, they engaged with 26 unique partners across 11 countries, meaning they joined large, multinational research consortia rather than small bilateral collaborations. This profile is typical of an industrial SME that contributes specific material or process knowledge to academic-led projects, rather than driving the research agenda itself.

With 26 unique consortium partners across 11 countries from just two projects, CAO HELLAS has an unusually wide European network for its portfolio size, a result of joining large, multi-partner research consortia. No geographic concentration is evident beyond their Greek base.

What sets them apart

CAO HELLAS occupies a niche that few Greek SMEs fill: a traditional mineral manufacturer that has deliberately embedded itself in EU-funded industrial research. Lime is a feedstock in decarbonization pathways that are receiving growing policy and funding attention — CO2 capture, aluminium refining, and potentially green cement — giving this company long-term strategic relevance beyond its modest H2020 footprint. For a consortium builder needing a Greek industrial partner with hands-on lime production capability and prior EU project experience, they are a practical and credible choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ENSUREAL
  The largest grant in CAO HELLAS's portfolio (EUR 90,562) and the project most directly tied to their industrial core — the Pedersen alumina process requires lime as a primary reagent, making their role both scientifically grounded and commercially relevant.
• ROLINCAP
  Demonstrates CAO HELLAS's early entry into CO2 capture research, a field with strong future funding prospects, positioning them as an industrial materials partner in climate mitigation technology.