CAPTIVE SYSTEMS SRL

Their core work

Captive Systems is an Italian technology SME specializing in magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) solutions for industrial water treatment and metal recovery. Their core technology involves functionalizing magnetic nanoparticles to selectively capture and extract heavy metals from contaminated industrial effluents — particularly spent electroplating and electroless plating baths. Once metals are captured, magnetic separation allows both recovery of valuable metals and regeneration of the plating solution, addressing a major waste and compliance problem in the metal finishing industry. They combine nanoparticle chemistry with process engineering to deliver circular-economy outcomes for industrial clients.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2018, Captive Systems was at the concept validation stage — their SME Phase 1 feasibility project tested whether magnetic fluids could be applied broadly to metals recovery and water management. By 2019, they had moved into a full R&D consortium project (PureNano) with a technically refined focus: functionalized MNPs applied specifically to the electroplating industry. The shift from broad 'magnetic fluids' to precise terminology — MNPs, functionalization, electroless, spent plating baths — marks a company that sharpened both its technology and its market niche between its first and second EU project.

Captive Systems is moving from concept toward commercial application in the metal finishing sector with increasing technical specificity — future collaborations are likely to focus on scaling MNP-based treatment systems or expanding to adjacent industrial wastewater streams.

How they like to work

They have experience both leading and joining consortia — they coordinated the SME Phase 1 feasibility project independently, then joined as a specialist participant in the larger RIA consortium PureNano. With 11 distinct partners across 6 countries from only 2 projects, they demonstrate a capacity to engage broad, international teams. This pattern suggests a company that contributes specialist nanoparticle technology while relying on academic and industry partners for complementary process engineering and validation capabilities.

Captive Systems has collaborated with 11 partners across 6 countries despite holding only 2 EU projects, reflecting participation in a sizeable multi-country RIA consortium in PureNano. Their network is entirely European, consistent with their H2020 scope and the industrial geography of the electroplating sector.

What sets them apart

Captive Systems occupies a highly specific niche: applying functionalized magnetic nanoparticles to a concrete, costly problem in the plating industry — spent bath disposal, heavy metal loss, and environmental liability. This combination of nanoparticle synthesis expertise with deep knowledge of electroplating process constraints is uncommon, particularly in an SME. For consortium builders working on industrial sustainability, water treatment, or critical raw material recovery, they offer both the core technology and the industrial application context in a single partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PureNano
  Their largest project (EUR 383,125, 2019-2022) demonstrates the full technical depth of the MNP approach applied to real industrial plating waste, within a multi-country RIA consortium.
• Magnetic Fluids
  As coordinator of this SME Phase 1 project (2018), Captive Systems ran the founding feasibility study that validated the core concept behind their entire current technology direction.