FUNDACION CENTRO DE SERVICIOS Y PROMOCION FORESTAL Y DE SU INDUSTRIA DE CASTILLA Y LEON

Their core work

CESEFOR is a Spanish forestry services and research foundation based in Soria (Castilla y León), dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management and developing value chains from forest and shrub biomass. They specialize in wood mobilisation strategies, turning marginal and forested lands into sources of bio-based products — from biochar and activated carbon to bioplastics and essential oils. Their work bridges forest science with rural economic development, helping regions unlock business opportunities from underutilized woody resources while maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CESEFOR's early H2020 work (2017–2019) centred on building regional networks for wood mobilisation and exploring non-wood forest products in the Mediterranean — essentially connecting forestry actors and identifying new business opportunities from existing resources. From 2020 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward biomass valorisation (converting shrubs and marginal land vegetation into bioplastics, biochar, and other bio-based products) and toward large-scale ecosystem restoration and forest resilience. The progression shows a clear move from networking and coordination activities toward applied bioeconomy research with industrial applications.

CESEFOR is moving from pure forestry coordination toward applied bioeconomy — expect them to seek partnerships in bio-based materials, circular economy, and large-scale ecosystem restoration.

How they like to work

CESEFOR participates exclusively as a partner — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, positioning themselves as a reliable contributor rather than a consortium leader. With 101 unique partners across 25 countries in just 7 projects, they operate in large, pan-European consortia (averaging ~15 partners per project). This broad network, combined with their consistent partner role, suggests they are valued as a regional forestry authority that brings practical field knowledge and Mediterranean/Iberian context to large collaborative efforts.

Remarkably well-connected for a regional foundation: 101 unique consortium partners across 25 countries, built entirely through participant roles in large pan-European projects. Their network spans most of the EU, with particular strength in Mediterranean and Central European forestry regions.

What sets them apart

CESEFOR occupies a rare niche as a regional forestry foundation that combines hands-on forest management expertise in the Iberian Peninsula with participation in high-level EU bioeconomy research. Unlike university labs, they bring practical knowledge of wood supply chains, marginal land management, and rural economic realities. For consortium builders, they offer a credible Spanish partner with deep forestry credentials, extensive field trial capacity in Mediterranean/continental climate zones, and proven experience in both coordination-support (CSA) and research-innovation (RIA/IA) project types.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SUPERB
  Their largest project (EUR 412K) focused on systemic ecosystem restoration for forest biodiversity — signals growing ambition and trust from consortia in high-budget restoration initiatives.
• BeonNAT
  A five-year innovation action converting shrub biomass into bioplastics, biochar, and essential oils — represents their strongest move into applied bioeconomy with industrial product development.
• ROSEWOOD4.0
  Direct continuation of ROSEWOOD, adding digitalisation to wood mobilisation networks — shows they can sustain and deepen multi-phase research programmes.