HAMPIDJAN HF

Their core work

Hampidjan HF is Iceland's largest manufacturer of fishing nets, ropes, and marine gear, supplying commercial fishing fleets across the North Atlantic and globally. Their EU research participation applies deep industrial expertise in fishing equipment to scientific challenges — from designing selective gear that reduces unwanted bycatch to contributing practical marine technology knowledge to large research fleet infrastructure programs. They act as a bridge between commercial fishing industry and the research community, offering real-world operational knowledge of what works at sea. Their involvement in EU projects is modest in funding terms but reflects a deliberate effort to connect their product lines with sustainability and ocean science agendas.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (DiscardLess, 2015–2019), Hampidjan's involvement was squarely in commercial fisheries sustainability — applying fishing gear knowledge to the politically and economically pressing problem of unwanted catch. Their second project (EurofleetsPlus, 2019–2023) marked a clear shift toward marine research infrastructure, with keywords centering on research vessels, AUVs, ROVs, telepresence, and deep ocean observation — domains traditionally dominated by research institutions rather than commercial manufacturers. This evolution suggests Hampidjan is actively positioning itself as a supplier and technical partner to the scientific research fleet market, not just the commercial fishing industry.

Hampidjan is expanding from commercial fisheries gear toward the marine science sector, suggesting growing interest in supplying equipment and expertise to research fleets and deep ocean observation programs.

How they like to work

Hampidjan has participated exclusively as a consortium member, never taking a coordinating role — consistent with an industrial company contributing specialist expertise rather than driving research agendas. Both their projects were large pan-European RIA alliances, which explains how just two participations generated 68 unique partners across 24 countries. This pattern suggests they are sought out for what they manufacture and know operationally, joining large coalitions where their industry perspective fills a gap that academic partners cannot.

Despite only two projects, Hampidjan has worked alongside 68 unique partners in 24 countries — a consequence of participating in very large European research alliances rather than bilateral collaborations. Their network spans the full breadth of European marine research institutions and infrastructure operators.

What sets them apart

As one of the world's largest fishing net and gear manufacturers, Hampidjan brings rare industrial manufacturing scale to EU research consortia that are otherwise dominated by universities and institutes. Few companies can credibly connect deep-sea commercial operations knowledge with active participation in funded marine research programs. Their Icelandic base also offers a North Atlantic and Arctic perspective that is structurally underrepresented in EU research networks, making them a valuable geographic bridge as well as a technical one.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EurofleetsPlus
  The largest of their two participations (EUR 33,000) and thematically unusual for a gear manufacturer — involvement in a pan-European research vessel alliance signals deliberate strategic positioning toward the marine science infrastructure market.
• DiscardLess
  Directly connected Hampidjan's core fishing gear expertise to one of the EU's most politically visible fisheries policy challenges, the mandatory discard ban under the Common Fisheries Policy.