INDUSTRIE DE NORA SPA-IDN

Their core work

Industrie De Nora is a major Italian industrial company specializing in electrochemical technologies, particularly electrodes and electrolyzers used in green hydrogen production and CO2 conversion to fuels and chemicals. In H2020, they contribute industrial-scale electrochemistry expertise to projects developing large-scale water electrolysis (Djewels), selective CO2 electroreduction (SELECTCO2), and low-temperature CO2 conversion to liquid fuels (ECO2Fuel). Their role across these projects points to a company that manufactures and develops the core electrochemical hardware — electrodes, catalysts, and electrolyzer components — that underpins the Power-to-X value chain.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

De Nora's H2020 trajectory shows a clear expansion from foundational electrochemistry research toward applied, large-scale industrial deployment. Their earliest project (ELCOREL, 2017) was an MSCA training network exploring broad electrochemical conversion of renewables into fuels and chemicals. By 2020-2021, they had moved decisively into targeted applications: large-scale green hydrogen production (Djewels), selective CO2 reduction to specific high-value chemicals (SELECTCO2), and full Power-to-X fuel production chains (ECO2Fuel).

De Nora is moving from upstream R&D toward industrial-scale deployment of electrochemical CO2 conversion and green hydrogen, positioning them as a key hardware supplier for the European Power-to-X ecosystem.

How they like to work

De Nora participates exclusively as a partner, never coordinating — consistent with a large industrial company contributing proprietary technology and manufacturing know-how to research-led consortia. With 40 unique partners across 14 countries in just 4 projects, they work in sizable European consortia (averaging 10+ partners per project). This pattern suggests they are a sought-after industrial partner that brings real-world electrochemical manufacturing capability to otherwise academic or research-institute-led projects.

Despite only 4 projects, De Nora has built a broad network of 40 partners spanning 14 countries, reflecting their participation in large pan-European consortia focused on electrochemistry and green energy. Their network is geographically diverse across the EU with no obvious concentration beyond their Italian base.

What sets them apart

De Nora stands out as one of the few large industrial manufacturers — not a university or research institute — active in H2020 electrochemistry projects. They bring actual production capability for electrodes and electrolyzers, which means projects with De Nora have a credible path from lab results to industrial manufacturing. For consortium builders, partnering with De Nora signals serious intent to scale beyond the lab and provides access to decades of industrial electrochemistry expertise.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ECO2Fuel
  Largest single EC contribution (€693K) and addresses the full Power-to-X chain from low-temperature CO2 electrolysis to sustainable liquid fuels — a high-ambition scale-up project running until 2026.
• Djewels
  Targets large-scale green hydrogen electrolysis deployment in Delfzijl (Netherlands), one of the concrete industrial-scale hydrogen projects in H2020 with direct real-world infrastructure impact.
• SELECTCO2
  Focuses on selective electrochemical CO2 reduction to multiple high-value chemicals (ethylene, ethanol, CO), demonstrating De Nora's versatility across different electrochemical product pathways.