CEMECON SCANDINAVIA AS

Their core work

CemeCon Scandinavia is a Danish SME specializing in advanced surface coatings, particularly diamond-like carbon (DLC) and low-friction coatings for industrial moulds and components. Their core business is developing coating solutions that eliminate the need for oils and release agents in injection moulding and casting processes, reducing contamination and improving production quality. More recently, they have expanded into circular bioeconomy projects, contributing their materials expertise to waste-to-value conversion processes involving organic urban waste streams.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 phase (2015-2019), CemeCon Scandinavia focused squarely on industrial coatings — nano-coatings for manufacturing components and their flagship cleanMOULD technology for oil-free moulding. From 2021 onward, they pivoted significantly toward the circular bioeconomy, joining the large-scale CIRCULAR BIOCARBON project. This suggests they are applying their surface and materials science expertise to new domains like biorefinery processes and waste conversion.

Moving from pure manufacturing coatings toward materials science applications in the circular economy and biorefinery sectors — a significant diversification that opens new collaboration opportunities.

How they like to work

CemeCon Scandinavia balances leadership and partnership equally — they coordinated both cleanMOULD phases (typical SME Instrument trajectory) and participated in two larger consortium projects. With 25 unique partners across 6 countries, they maintain a moderately broad network. Their pattern suggests a company comfortable leading their own innovation but also capable of contributing specialist expertise to larger multi-partner initiatives.

They have collaborated with 25 distinct partners across 6 countries, indicating a solid European network for a small company. Their partnerships span both manufacturing-focused and bioeconomy-focused consortia, giving them cross-sector connections.

What sets them apart

CemeCon Scandinavia sits at an unusual intersection: they are a coatings specialist with deep moulding industry expertise that is now bridging into circular bioeconomy applications. This makes them a rare partner who can bring advanced materials and surface science know-how to projects outside traditional manufacturing. For consortium builders, they offer a proven SME with both coordination experience and the ability to apply industrial coating technology to emerging green economy challenges.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CIRCULAR BIOCARBON
  Their largest single grant (EUR 1.87M) and a major strategic pivot — a long-duration project (2021-2027) in biorefinery and circular economy, far from their coatings origin.
• cleanMOULD
  Successfully progressed from SME Instrument Phase 1 feasibility (EUR 50K) to Phase 2 full development (EUR 894K), demonstrating strong innovation execution on their core DLC coating technology.