FUNDACION CIDAUT

Their core work

CIDAUT is a Spanish applied research centre based in Valladolid specializing in advanced materials, automotive engineering, and manufacturing processes. They develop lightweight metal alloys (magnesium, aluminium, rare-earth composites), green coatings, and recycling technologies for critical raw materials. They also work on electric vehicle drivetrain components, smart road infrastructure, and energy-efficient building solutions. Their strength lies in bridging materials science with industrial manufacturing — taking lab-proven materials and making them producible at scale.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015-2018), CIDAUT focused heavily on critical raw materials — recovering rare-earth elements, recycling magnesium, and developing high-performance lightweight alloys at reduced cost. From 2019 onward, they shifted toward circular economy (WEEE flame-retardant removal, raw material reuse), digital manufacturing (blockchain, robotized microfactories), and building energy performance. The trajectory shows a clear move from pure materials R&D toward the application and sustainability dimensions of those materials.

CIDAUT is pivoting from materials development toward sustainable manufacturing processes and built-environment applications, making them increasingly relevant for green transition consortia.

How they like to work

CIDAUT operates as both a project leader and a reliable consortium partner, having coordinated 4 out of 14 projects — a strong leadership ratio for a mid-sized research centre. Their 211 unique partners across 25 countries indicate they are a well-connected hub rather than a repeat-partner organization. They are comfortable in both large consortia (RIA projects with many partners) and smaller focused teams (Clean Sky 2 projects), making them adaptable collaborators.

With 211 unique consortium partners spread across 25 countries, CIDAUT has built one of the wider networks for a Spanish research centre of its size. Their partnerships span Western and Southern Europe heavily, with strong ties to the automotive and materials research communities.

What sets them apart

CIDAUT occupies a distinctive niche at the intersection of advanced materials science and industrial manufacturing scale-up — they don't just develop new alloys, they figure out how to produce and recycle them affordably. As an SME-classified research foundation, they combine the agility of a small organization with the technical depth of a research institute, making them a practical bridge between university labs and factory floors. Their rare combination of metallurgy expertise and automotive engineering knowledge is hard to find outside large corporate R&D departments.

Highlights from their portfolio

• REMAGHIC
  Their largest funded project (EUR 898K) as coordinator, tackling the strategic challenge of recovering rare-earth elements and recycling magnesium into high-performance alloys.
• AVANGARD
  Marks their entry into digital manufacturing with blockchain-enabled distributed production and robotized integration — a significant pivot from traditional materials work.
• PROBONO
  Their most recent and longest-running project (2022-2026), signalling a strategic expansion into energy-efficient buildings with BIM and building-integrated photovoltaics.