FUNDACION CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DE INVESTIGACION MULTISECTORIAL

Their core work

CETIM is a Spanish multisectoral research centre based in Culleredo (Galicia) that specializes in environmental technologies — particularly water treatment, resource recovery, and circular economy solutions. They develop and test technologies for water purification (including membrane-based desalination), critical raw materials recovery from waste streams, and nature-based solutions for urban water management. Their work bridges applied research and industrial deployment, translating lab-scale environmental technologies into real-world systems for municipalities and industry.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CETIM's earliest H2020 projects (2019) focused on membrane-based water purification and critical raw materials recovery — essentially hard-tech, resource-efficiency topics with an international cooperation dimension. By 2020-2021, their focus shifted decisively toward resilience, climate change adaptation, and nature-based solutions, with their largest coordinated project (NICE) anchoring this new direction. The trajectory shows a clear move from component-level technologies (membranes, biorecovery) toward integrated, systems-level environmental solutions for urban and regional water challenges.

CETIM is moving from pure technology development toward integrated nature-based and circular approaches for climate-resilient water management, making them increasingly relevant for urban adaptation projects.

How they like to work

CETIM operates as both a project leader and active contributor, coordinating 2 of their 5 projects — a strong ratio for an organization of this size. With 95 unique consortium partners across 22 countries, they clearly favour broad, diverse consortia rather than small or repeat-partner teams. This wide network suggests they are well-connected and comfortable working across cultures and disciplines, making them an accessible partner for new collaborations.

CETIM has built a broad network of 95 partners across 22 countries in just 5 projects, indicating they consistently join large international consortia. Their geographic reach spans well beyond Iberia, covering a significant portion of Europe and likely including non-EU partners given the international cooperation keyword.

What sets them apart

CETIM combines water technology expertise with circular economy and nature-based solutions under one roof — a combination that is uncommon for a single research centre. Their coordinator track record on both resource recovery (BIORECOVER) and urban water NBS (NICE) shows they can lead projects across different environmental sub-domains. For consortium builders, CETIM offers a versatile Spanish partner that can bridge hard technology (membranes, sensors, bioprocesses) with systems-level environmental planning.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NICE
  Largest project by funding (€920K), coordinator role, and represents CETIM's strategic shift toward nature-based solutions for urban water sustainability.
• BIORECOVER
  First coordinator role for CETIM in H2020 (€810K), focused on the high-priority EU topic of critical raw materials recovery through biotechnology.
• REWAISE
  Significant participation (€653K) in a long-running project (2020-2026) addressing the full smart water economy — from governance to energy recovery.