GRAASTEN TEGLVAERK A/S

Their core work

Graasten Teglværk is a Danish brick manufacturer ("teglværk" = brickworks) that developed and commercialized a proprietary clean-technology building block product branded CleanTechBlock. They took this innovation from feasibility study (SME Instrument Phase 1, 2015) through full market launch (SME Instrument Phase 2, 2017–2019), suggesting the product addresses environmental performance in brick or masonry construction — likely reduced CO₂ emissions, improved energy efficiency, or use of alternative raw materials. As a small manufacturing company that secured over EUR 1.1 million in EU funding to bring a single product to market, their core value is applied industrial innovation in sustainable building materials.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

This organization's entire H2020 trajectory is a single, focused innovation journey: they entered EU funding with a clean-technology block concept in 2015 and spent the following four years scaling it toward commercial readiness. There is no visible pivot or broadening of scope — the second project is an explicit continuation of the first. This makes them unusual: a highly disciplined single-product innovator rather than a research organization exploring multiple themes. Given that both projects ended by 2019, it is unclear whether the CleanTechBlock technology has since been commercialized or what their current R&D direction is.

They were on a deliberate scale-up trajectory through 2019; no post-2019 H2020 activity is visible, so a prospective partner should verify whether the technology reached market and whether the company remains active in EU-funded innovation.

How they like to work

Graasten Teglværk operates exclusively as a project coordinator and appears to have pursued both EU projects as a solo applicant — the data shows zero consortium partners, which is consistent with how SME Instrument grants typically work (company-led, minimal external consortium). This means they are self-directed innovators comfortable taking full ownership of a project, but they have no track record of building or working within larger research consortia. A partner engaging them would likely be working with the company directly, not entering an established network.

No consortium partnerships are recorded across their two H2020 projects, which is characteristic of SME Instrument grants rather than a sign of isolation. Their effective collaboration network for EU-funded work is unknown beyond the company itself.

What sets them apart

This is one of very few brick or masonry manufacturers in the EU to have completed both phases of the SME Instrument, demonstrating that their CleanTechBlock technology was evaluated as commercially credible by independent EU reviewers. For a consortium or business partner in construction, retrofit, or low-carbon materials, they offer the rare combination of traditional manufacturing know-how and a documented EU-validated clean product. The main uncertainty is whether the technology reached the market after the 2019 project end.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CLEANTECHBLOCK2
  The largest grant (EUR 1.1M, SME Instrument Phase 2) and the rare achievement of progressing from Phase 1 feasibility to full Phase 2 market maturation for the same technology — a milestone most SME applicants never reach.
• CleanTechBlock
  The Phase 1 feasibility project that initiated the entire innovation pipeline, showing a company that entered EU funding with a concrete product concept rather than broad research ambitions.