Swedish metal powder producer contributing to additive manufacturing pilot lines and industrial symbiosis in large European consortia.
Höganäs AB is a large Swedish industrial company and one of Europe's leading metal powder producers, bringing production-scale manufacturing capabilities into EU research consortia rather than laboratory research. In the MANUELA project they contributed industrial expertise to metal additive manufacturing pilot lines — specifically powder bed fusion processes, in-line quality monitoring, and machine learning-driven process control. In CORALIS they applied their large-scale industrial operations to industrial symbiosis challenges, acting as a facilitator for CO2 utilization, waste heat recovery, and circular economy value chains. Their H2020 participation consistently reflects a company testing and validating emerging technologies against real industrial conditions.
MANUELA project (2018–2023) focused on powder bed fusion, design for AM, and material qualification for AM at pilot line scale, directly matching Höganäs's metal powder production background.
MANUELA project keywords include in-line control, quality monitoring, and machine learning, indicating active contribution to digital process control and automated quality assurance in additive manufacturing.
CORALIS project (2020–2025) lists industrial symbiosis, CO2 utilization, waste heat recovery, and wastewater as core themes, with Höganäs listed as an IS facilitator.
CORALIS positions Höganäs as a large industrial actor contributing operational know-how to circular economy value chains, beyond purely technological roles.
Höganäs entered H2020 with a tightly scoped focus on metal additive manufacturing — powder bed fusion, process automation, standardization, and ML-based quality monitoring (MANUELA, 2018). By 2020 their research engagement shifted toward industrial ecology: industrial symbiosis, CO2 utilization, and waste heat recovery (CORALIS). This is not a departure from manufacturing but an expansion — the same large-scale industrial operations perspective applied to sustainability and resource circularity challenges.
Höganäs is moving toward integrating sustainability and resource circularity into its industrial operations, making them a natural partner for projects at the intersection of advanced manufacturing and the green industrial transition.
Höganäs participates exclusively as a consortium partner — never as coordinator — positioning themselves as an industrial contributor rather than a research driver. Both MANUELA and CORALIS are large Innovation Actions, consistent with Höganäs providing production-scale validation and industrial testing rather than basic research leadership. Their 56 unique partners from 14 countries across only 2 projects indicates they engage in large, well-networked European consortia where their industrial capabilities complement academic and SME partners.
Despite only 2 H2020 projects, Höganäs has engaged with 56 unique partners across 14 countries — a reflection of participation in large pan-European Innovation Actions rather than narrow bilateral collaborations. Their network spans manufacturing, digital, and environmental sectors.
Höganäs occupies a rare position as a large industrial company contributing real production-scale capabilities to EU research — not a university group theorizing about metal AM, but a manufacturer that actually produces the materials and runs the processes being studied. Their dual presence in both additive manufacturing technology (MANUELA) and circular industrial systems (CORALIS) makes them a credible partner for projects needing industrial validation rather than laboratory proofs. For consortium builders, Höganäs represents direct access to industrial facilities, established supply chains, and process standardization expertise that few academic or SME partners can replicate.
