Fundacion IMDEA Energia

Their core work

IMDEA Energia is a Madrid-based research centre specializing in solar energy conversion, electrochemical energy storage, and advanced materials for energy applications. They develop solar fuels through artificial photosynthesis, design next-generation batteries (particularly redox flow batteries), and create nanostructured materials including metal-organic frameworks for both energy and biomedical uses. Their work spans from fundamental catalysis and computational chemistry to pilot-scale demonstration of concentrated solar power systems, with a growing role in hydrogen sustainability assessment and eco-design guidelines for clean energy technologies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2019), IMDEA Energia focused heavily on concentrated solar power, solar fuels via artificial photosynthesis, and organic redox flow batteries — all fundamental energy conversion and storage research. From 2020 onward, their portfolio diversified significantly: they moved into hydrogen sustainability assessment (SH2E, eGHOST), biomedical applications of their materials expertise (drug delivery via MOFs and nanocarriers), and zeolite-based catalysis. The shift suggests a maturing organization that is translating core materials science capabilities into broader application domains while also positioning itself as a standard-setter for hydrogen eco-design.

IMDEA Energia is evolving from a pure energy-materials lab into a dual-track organization: hydrogen policy/standards on one side, and biomedical nanomaterials (drug delivery, brain targeting) on the other — making them an unusually versatile partner for cross-sector consortia.

How they like to work

IMDEA Energia leads almost as often as it follows — 12 coordinator roles out of 28 projects is a high ratio, especially for a mid-sized research centre. Their 183 unique partners across 25 countries indicate a broad, hub-like network rather than a closed circle of repeat collaborators. They are comfortable running ERC-scale projects independently (HyMAP, MFreeB, TODENZE) and equally at home as a technical partner in large multi-partner consortia like SFERA-III and NONTOX.

With 183 unique consortium partners across 25 countries, IMDEA Energia maintains one of the wider collaboration networks among Spanish research centres. Their partnerships span the full EU geography with particular density in Western and Southern Europe, anchored by solar energy and materials science collaborations.

What sets them apart

IMDEA Energia sits at a rare intersection: deep materials science (MOFs, polymers, zeolites, nanoparticles) applied across both energy systems and biomedical delivery — few energy research centres have this crossover. Their dual capability in hands-on lab research AND sustainability methodology (LCA, eco-design guidelines for hydrogen) means they can both build the technology and assess its environmental impact. For consortium builders, this means one partner covering materials development, energy system design, and sustainability compliance — reducing the need for separate specialist partners.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HyMAP
  Largest single grant (EUR 2.5M ERC Consolidator), flagship artificial photosynthesis project combining MOFs, semiconductors, and solar reactor engineering — defines IMDEA's core identity.
• MFreeB
  EUR 2M ERC grant for membrane-free redox flow batteries using organic biphasic systems — a fundamentally different approach to grid-scale energy storage.
• TODENZE
  EUR 2.4M ERC grant (2021–2027) on dendritic zeolites for catalysis and drug delivery — their longest-running and most recent major coordinated project, signalling the biomedicine pivot.